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The long horseback ride of the morning had whetted their 

appetites. — Page 125. 


Dave porter Series 


./ 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT 
SEARCH 


THE PERILS OF A YOUNG CIVIL ENGINEER 


BY 

EDWARD STRATEMEYER 

Author of “ Dave Porter at Oak Hall,” '* The Old Glory Series,” 
“Colonial Series,” “Pan-American Series,” etc. 


ILLUSTRATED BT WALTER S. ROGERS 

/ 




BOSTON 

LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 


Published, August, 1917 





Copyright, 1917 

By Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co. 


All rights reserved. 

DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


T' ' 

SEP -7 1917 ‘ 



florwooD press 

BERWICK & SMITH CO. 

NORWOOD, MASS. 

U. S. A. 


ff . *■' * « V '.\ * ** aP 

©GI.A4 73373 


PREFACE 


“ Dave Porter’s Great Search ” is a com- 
plete story in itself, but forms the thirteenth vol- 
ume in a line issued under the general title of 
“ Dave Porter Series.” 

As my old readers know, this series was begun 
some years ago by the publication of “ Dave 
Porter at Oak Hall,” in which my readers were 
introduced to a wideawake, American boy at an 
up-to-date American boarding-school. This was 
followed by “ Dave Porter in the South Seas,” 
where our hero had gone to find his father, and 
then by “ Dave Porter’s Return to School.” 
After that we had “ Dave Porter in the Far 
North,” where the lad went on a second journey 
looking for his parent; “ Dave Porter and His 
Classmates,” in which our hero was put to a most 
unusual test; and then by “ Dave Porter at Star 
Ranch,” in which he took part in many strenuous 
adventures. 

From the Wild West Dave returned again to 
school, as related in “ Dave Porter and His 
Rivals.” Then he took a sea voyage, as told of 
in “ Dave Porter on Cave Island,” and later still 
taught some of his school chums a much-needed 


PREFACE 


lesson, the particulars of which are given in “ Dave 
Porter and the Runaways.” 

The lad had imagined his strenuous adventures 
were now at an end, but this was not to be. He 
heard of a lost mine, and, with his chums, went 
in search of it, as related in “ Dave Porter in the 
Gold Fields.” Coming back, he put in some fine 
times in the Adirondack Mountains, as related in 
“ Dave Porter at Bear Camp.” 

By this time the lad had graduated from school, 
and he now took up the study of civil engineering. 
There was another lad who looked exactly like 
Dave, and this person caused our hero much 
trouble, as told of in “ Dave Porter and His 
Double,” where we last met him. 

In the present volume Dave is still pursuing his 
calling of civil engineering. He is at work in the 
mountains when he comes face to face with one of 
his old-time enemies. Later still word comes to 
the youth that his dearest girl friend, Jessie 
Wadsworth, and his sister Laura have disap- 
peared from home. One surprise is followed by 
another, and the young civil engineer is confronted 
by many perils. 

Once again I thank my young readers for the 
interest they have shown in the various volumes 
I have written for them. I trust that the reading 
of this book will benefit them all. 

Edward Stratemeyer. 


May i, 1917. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I In the Mountains i 

II Something About the Past 12 

III A Surprise of the Road 22 

IV What Phil’s Letter Told 34 

V Nick Jasniff’s Visit 45 

VI News from Home 58 

VII The Fight on the Trail 68 

VIM What Was Missing 77 

IX Dave at Orella 88 

X What the Girls Had to Tell 98 

XI The Oak Hall Chums 109 

# 

XII On the Mountain Top 120 

XIII To the Rescue of Shadow 130 

XIV Something About Bears 142 

XV The Trail to Nowhere 152 

XVI Waiting for Letters 162 

XVII Bad News 172 

XVIII On the Way East 183 

XIX The Demand for Money 192 

XX Beginning the Great Search 202 

XXI Stuck on the Road 212 


v 


vi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XXII The First Clue 221 

XXIII What the Little Girls Knew 230 

XXIV Another Clue 238 

XXV What Horsehair Had to Tell 247 

XXVI The Mountain Road 257 

XXVII To the Rescue 267 

XXVIII Prisoners 277 

XXIX Trying to Escape 286 


XXX The Round-Up — Conclusion 296 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


I 

The long horseback ride of the morning had whetted their 
appetites ( Page 125 ) Frontispiece 

FACING 

PAGE 

Dave made a wild leap for the animal nearest him . . 24 




Dave raised the axe and sent it whirling forward toward 
the snake 


46 


Dave found himself rolling over and over down a rocky 
slope 


74 




Dave took careful aim at the bear and fired . . . .154 

“I think we’ll have you out of this in a jiffy” .... 214 

“The man who ran the car gave Billy a note to give to 
two young ladies ” 236 


“You have no right here!” screamed the old gypsy hag 276 


v/ 





















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1 












DAVE PORTER’S GREAT 
SEARCH 

CHAPTER I 

IN THE MOUNTAINS 

“ What do you think of that sky, Dave ? ” 

“ It looks to me as if we were in for a storm, 
Roger,” answered Dave Porter, a trace of anxiety 
crossing his usually pleasant features. 

“ Perhaps it is only wind,” vouchsafed Roger 
Morr, after he brought his horse to a standstill so 
that he might scan the distant horizon minutely. 
“ You know they do have some terrible wind 
storms out here in Montana.” 

“ Oh, yes. I remember the big winds we had 
when we were out at Star Ranch,” answered 
Dave. “ Don’t you remember once we thought 
we were in for a regular tornado ? ” 

“ I surely do remember. Say, Dave, those were 
certainly great days on the ranch, weren’t they? ” 
“ Now that we’ve moved up here to Montana 
I hope some day to get the chance to run out to 


2 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


the ranch,” continued Dave. “ I would like very 
much to meet Belle Endicott and her folks.” 

“ I’ll wager you’ll find Phil Lawrence sneak- 
ing out this way some day,” laughed Roger. 

“ Can you blame him, Roger? Belle is an aw- 
fully nice girl.” 

“ Of course I shouldn’t blame him, any more 
than I’d blame myself for — for ” 

“ Than you would blame yourself for sneaking 
off to Crumville to see my sister,” laughed Dave. 

“ Humph ! I guess you wouldn’t mind being 
back in Crumville this moment, calling on Jessie 
Wadsworth.” 

“ I don’t deny it. But say, let us get on our 
way. Those black clouds are coming up alto- 
gether too rapidly to suit me.” 

“ How many miles do you suppose we are from 
the camp? ” 

“ Six or eight at least. You know we followed 
this trail for a long time before we stopped to 
have lunch.” 

“ If that new branch of the M. C. & D. Rail- 
road comes through this way it will certainly fol- 
low a picturesque route,” declared Roger. 

u That will suit the summer tourists, even if it 
doesn’t cut any ice with the natives. But come on, 
we had better not waste any more time. Before 
you know it it will be dark and that storm will 
be upon us.” 


IN THE MOUNTAINS 


3 


The two young civil engineers were high up on 
a trail among the mountains of Montana. Far 
below them stretched a rugged valley, containing 
more rocks than grazing lands. Off to the south- 
ward could be seen a small stream which some 
time before had been shimmering in the sunlight, 
but which now was almost lost in the sudden 
gloom that was overspreading the sky. 

“ What a difference between the scenery here 
and that along the Rio Grande,” remarked Roger, 
as the two chums made their way along the nar- 
row trail leading to the camp of the Mentor Con- 
struction Company. 

“ I’m glad of the change, Roger. I was get- 
ting tired of the marsh land along that river, and 
I was also mighty tired of those greasers.” 

“ Not to say anything about the raids the Mexi- 
cans made on us,” laughed the chum. “ Say, we 
came pretty close to having some hot times once 
or twice, didn’t we?” 

“ I hope, Roger, we are able to make as good 
a showing up here on this railroad work as we 
did on that Catalco Bridge. That certainly was 
a superb piece of engineering.” 

Dave was silent for a few minutes while the 
horses trotted along the stony trail. Then, 
pleased by a passing thought, his face and eyes lit 
up with enthusiasm. 

“Wouldn’t it be grand, Roger, if some day 


4 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


you and I could put through some big engineering 
feat all on our own hook?” he cried. “Think 
of our putting up some big bridge, or building some 
big tunnel, or some fine skyscraper, or something 
like that! ” 

“ I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to do it 
some day. The men who are at the head of the 
Mentor Construction Company had to start as we 
are doing — at the foot of the ladder. What one 
man has done, some other fellow ought to be able 
to do after him.” 

“ Right you are ! But ride slow now. If 
you’ll remember, the trail is rather dangerous just 
ahead of us.” 

The admonition that had been given was not 
necessary, for both young men knew only too well 
the danger which lay ahead of them. At this point 
the trail became exceedingly narrow and wound 
in and out around a cliff which towered at least 
a hundred feet above their heads. In some spots 
the trail was less than a yard wide, and on the 
outer edge the rough rocks sloped downward at 
an angle of forty-five degrees. 

“ If a fellow slipped down there I wonder 
where he would land,” murmured Roger, as he 
held back his steed so as to give his companion a 
chance to pick his way with care. 

“ If you went over there you’d probably tumble 
down several hundred feet,” answered Dave. 


IN THE MOUNTAINS 


5 


“ And if you did that, you and your horse would 
most likely be killed. You be careful and keep 
your horse as close to the cliff as possible.” 

At one point in the trail where it would have 
been utterly impossible to pass another person, the 
young civil engineers stopped to give a long, loud 
whistle, to announce to any one coming in the op- 
posite direction that they were approaching. No 
whistle or call came in return, so they took it for 
granted that the trail was clear and proceeded 
again on their way. 

By the time the vicinity of the cliff had been 
left behind, more than three quarters of the sky 
was overcast. Far off in the distance they could 
hear a murmur which gradually increased. 

“ It’s the wind coming up between the moun- 
tains,” announced Dave. And he was right. 
Soon the murmur had increased to a strange hum- 
ming, and then, in a moment more, the wind came 
rushing down upon them with a violence that was 
anything but comfortable. 

“Come on! Don’t linger here!” shouted 
Dave, as he urged his horse' forward. “We’ll 
soon be out on the regular road.” 

A quarter of a mile farther brought them to 
another turn in the trail, and in a minute more 
they went down a long slope and then came out 
on a broad trail running to a number of mines and 
ranches in that part of Montana. Here for over 


6 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


a mile riding was much easier, and the chums 
made good progress in the direction of the con- 
struction camp at which they were making their 
headquarters. 

“ Do you think we can make it before the rain 
comes? ” questioned Roger, as they dashed along. 

“ No such. luck. Here comes the rain now,” 
answered Dave. 

As he spoke, both of the young civil engineers 
felt the first drops of the on-coming storm. 
Then the rain became a steady downpour which 
threatened every minute to turn into a deluge. 

Fortunately for the two young men, they were 
not hampered by any of their civil-engineering out- 
fit. They had been asked that morning by Mr. 
Ralph Obray, the manager of the construction 
gang, to ride up the trail and make sure that cer- 
tain marks had been left there by the surveyors 
for the railroad. The work done by the railroad 
had been merely of a preliminary nature, but this 
preliminary work, crude as it was, was to be used 
as a basis for the more accurate survey by the 
engineers of the construction company. 

“ I don’t think we can make camp in such a 
downpour as this,” gasped Roger, after another 
half-mile had been covered. 

“ Maybe you’re right,” responded Dave. “ It 
certainly is coming down to beat the band! But 
what are we going to do? I don’t believe in 


IN THE MOUNTAINS 7 

standing still and getting ourselves drenched to the 
skin.” 

“We ought to be able to find some sort of 
shelter near by. Come on, let us take a look 
around.” 

Both did this, sheltering their eyes from the 
rain with their hands. In such a downpour the 
scenery on all sides was practically obliterated. 

“ Can’t make out a thing,” remarked Roger in 
disgust. “ I suppose we’ve got to go on and take 
what comes. By the time we reach camp we’ll 
feel like a couple of drowned rats.” 

“ Never mind. We’ll have a chance to change 
our clothing, anyway,” responded Dave lightly. 
“ And we won’t have to take a bath or get under 
the shower.” 

“ Take a bath or get under the shower! ” re- 
peated Roger. “ Wow ! If I had a chance to do 
that I wouldn’t know myself,” he added with a 
grin. For neither of the chums had seen any- 
thing like a bathtub or a shower for several 
months. When they took a bath it was usually 
in a small stream that flowed not far from where 
the construction camp was located. 

Forward the young civil engineers went once 
again, the rain beating furiously in their faces as 
they proceeded. The downpour was so severe 
that presently they came to where a hollow on the 
road was completely filled with muddy water. 


8 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ Stop, or you may get stuck! ” cried Dave, as 
he brought his horse to a halt. “ I think we had 
better try to go around this pool.” 

“ Come on this way,” returned his chum 
quickly, and turned off to the left. 

And right here it was that the two young civil 
engineers made a big mistake. Had they turned 
to the right they would soon have come out on 
the road at a point where it would have been 
perfectly safe to proceed. But the turn to the left 
led them downward, and almost before they knew 
it they found themselves between the rocks and on 
the edge of a thick woods. 

“ Hello! where have we landed now? ” queried 
Dave. “ I don’t believe we can get back to the 
road from here.” 

“ Oh, come on, let us skirt the woods,” urged 
Roger. “ We are bound to get back to the road 
sooner or later.” 

Somewhat against his better judgment, Dave al- 
lowed his chum to take the lead, and on they went 
through the rain and increasing darkness. The 
first rush of wind had now somewhat subsided, but 
in its place they could hear the low rumble of dis- 
tant thunder. Then a sudden flash of lightning 
lit the scene. 

“ Say, I don’t like this! ” cried Roger, as the 
thunder became louder and several more flashes 
of lightning flared over the surroundings. 


IN THE MOUNTAINS 


9 


“ Watch for the next flash, Roger, and maybe 
you can see the road,” suggested Dave. 

Both young civil engineers did as had been sug- 
gested, but, though they waited not only for the 
next flash of light but also for the two following, 
they were unable to see more than the rocks and 
trees in their immediate vicinity. 

“ I’m afraid we’re lost down here,” said Dave 
at last. “ And if that’s the case, the only thing 
we can do is to ride back to where we came from.” 

“ Oh, let us go ahead a little farther. Maybe 
the road is at the edge of the woods yonder.” 

“ If we only knew of some miner’s camp or 
some ranch-house around here, we might get 
shelter, Roger. I don’t much like the idea of rid- 
ing in such a storm as this is getting to be.” 

“ True for you ! But I don’t think there is any 
kind of shelter such as you mention within a mile 
or two of this place. I didn’t see anything that 
looked like a house or a cabin when we came up 
the trail.” 

Once more Roger went ahead, and with in- 
creased unwillingness Dave followed him, all the 
while thinking that it would be better to retrace 
their steps to the point where they had found the 
roadway covered with water. 

“ We might have skirted that pool somehow,” 
thought Dave. “ Now we don’t know where 
we’ll land.” 


IO DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


The two riders found a slight rise ahead of 
them, and this encouraged Roger into believing 
that the roadway was not far distant. Less than 
a hundred yards further on, however, they came 
to a sudden halt. 

“ Well, I’ll be blessed!” 

“ I think we’ll have to turn back now, Roger.” 

“ I suppose so. Isn’t it too bad? ” 

Without warning of any kind they had suddenly 
come to a spot where the jagged rocks arose in 
front of them several feet higher than their 
horses’ heads. Off to the left flowed a swift 
mountain torrent, bordered on one side by a low, 
irregular cliff and on the other by the jagged rocks 
and the tall forest. The rain was now coming 
down as steadily as ever, while the thunder and 
lightning constantly increased in violence. The 
sky was entirely overcast, so that when there was 
no lightning it was almost totally dark at the edge 
of the forest. 

“ Maybe if we could get across that stream we 
might climb up to the roadway,” suggested Roger, 
who hated to think of going back. “ Anyway, let 
us take a good look the next time it lightens.” 

Roger had scarcely spoken when there came a 
tremendous crash of thunder so close at hand that 
it made both of the young civil engineers start. 
The horses too were badly frightened, and both 
gave wild plunges one into the other. As a con- 


IN THE MOUNTAINS 


ii 


sequence, a moment later Dave found himself un- 
seated and thrown to the ground, and an instant 
later Roger landed almost on top of him. 

“ Hi! Stop the horses!.” gasped Dave, when 
he could speak. 

To this Roger made no response for the rea- 
son that he had come down on the rocks with such 
force that he was all but stunned. Dave at- 
tempted to struggle to his feet and catch the 
plunging animals, but before he could do so the 
two horses had bolted away in the semi-darkness, 
leaving their former riders to their fate. 


CHAPTER II 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 

“ We’re in a pickle now, and no mistake ! ” 
panted Roger. 

“ Let us try to catch the horses before they get 
too far away,” came from Dave. “ We don’t 
want the fun of tramping back to camp on foot.” 

“ Not to say anything about losing two valu- 
able animals.” 

“ I hope you didn’t break any bones,” continued 
Dave, as he saw his chum feeling of his knee and 
his elbow. 

“ Oh, I guess I didn’t get anything more than a 
good shaking up. And you didn’t escape entirely, 
either. See, your hand is bleeding.” 

“ Oh, it’s only a scrape. Come on; ” and thus 
speaking Dave ran off in the direction the runaway 
horses had taken, and his chum followed. 

To my old readers Dave Porter will need no 
special introduction. For the benefit of others, 
however, let me state that when a small boy he 
had been found wandering alongside the railroad 
tracks in Crumville. As nobody claimed him he 
12 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 13 

had been put in the local poorhouse, and, later on, 
bound out to a broken-down college professor, 
Caspar Potts, who at that time was farming for 
his health. 

In an elegant mansion on the outskirts of Crum- 
ville, lived Mr. Oliver Wadsworth, a wealthy 
jewelry manufacturer, with his wife and his daugh- 
ter Jessie. One day the gasoline tank of an auto- 
mobile took fire, and Jessie was in danger of being 
burned to death when Dave came to her rescue. 
As a consequence of this Mr. Wadsworth became 
interested in the boy, and decided that he should 
be given the benefits of a good education and had 
sent him to a first-class boarding school, as related 
in the first volume of this series, entitled “ Dave 
Porter at Oak Hall.” With Dave went Ben 
Basswood, his one boy friend in the town. 

At Oak Hall Dave made a number of close 
friends, including Roger Morr, the son of a well- 
known United States Senator; Phil Lawrence, the 
offspring of a rich ship-owner; “ Shadow ” Hamil- 
ton, who loved to tell stories; and Buster Beggs, 
who was as fat as he was jolly. 

In those days the principal thing that troubled 
Dave was the question of his parentage. To 
solve the mystery of his identity he took a long 
sea voyage, as related in “ Dave Porter in the 
South Seas,” where he met his uncle, Dunston Por- 
ter, and learned much concerning his father, David 


i 4 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Breslow Porter, and also his sister Laura, who 
were at that time traveling in Europe. 

On his return to school, and during the time that 
our hero spent in trying to locate his father and 
his sister, as related in succeeding volumes of this 
series, Dave made many new friends. But there 
were some lads who were jealous of the boy’s suc- 
cess, and two of them, Nick Jasniff and Link Mer- 
well, did what they could to get our hero into 
trouble. The plot against Dave, however, was 
exposed, and in sheer fright Nick Jasniff ran away 
and went to Europe while Merwell went out West 
to a ranch owned by his father. 

Dave’s sister Laura had an intimate friend, 
Belle Endicott, who lived on Star Ranch in Mon- 
tana, and through this friendship all of the boys 
and girls were invited out to the ranch. There, 
to his surprise, Dave fell in once more with Link 
Merwell and finally exposed that young rascal 
so that Link thought it would be to his advantage 
to disappear. 

“ You’ll have to keep your eyes open for those 
wretches,” was Roger’s comment at the time. 

“ They’ll get the better of you if they possibly 
can, Dave,” Phil Lawrence had added. 

“ I’ll watch them,” the youth had answered. 

When the Christmas holidays arrived Dave 
went back to Crumville, where he and his folks re- 
sided with the Wadsworths. Directly after 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 15 

Christmas came a startling robbery of the Wads- 
worth jewelry works, and Dave and his chums 
by some clever work discovered that the crime 
had been committed by Merwell and Jasniff. 
After a sea voyage to Cave Island, Jasniff was cap- 
tured and sent to jail, but Merwell at the last 
minute managed to make his escape. 

The trip to Cave Island was followed by an- 
other to the great West, where Dave aided Roger 
Morr in locating a gold mine which had been lost 
through a landslide. 

After this our hero went up to Bear Camp in 
the Adirondack Mountains, where he had a glori- 
ous time with all of his chums and also the girls. 
At that time Dave fell in with a young man named 
Ward Porton, who was almost our hero’s double 
in appearance. Porton proved to be an un- 
scrupulous person, and caused our hero not a little 
trouble, he trying at one time to palm himself off 
as the real Dave Porter. This scheme, however, 
was exposed, and then Porton lost no time in dis- 
appearing. 

Our hero had now graduated from Oak Hall, 
and he and Roger Morr had taken up the pro- 
fession of civil engineering. In the midst of his 
studies Dave was startled by the news of the dis- 
appearance of some valuable miniatures which had 
been willed to his old friends, the Basswoods. It 
was discovered that Ward Porton was in this plot, 


16 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


and later on this evildoer, along with his dis- 
reputable father, was brought to justice. 

As soon as their first examination in civil en- 
gineering had been passed, Dave and Roger had 
succeeded in obtaining through their instructor 
positions with the Mentor Construction Company, 
a large concern operating many branches through- 
out the United States and in foreign countries. 
They were assigned to a gang operating in Texas, 
building a railroad bridge near the Rio Grande. 
This construction camp was under the general 
management of Mr. Ralph Obray, assisted by a 
number of others, including a middle-aged man 
named Frank Andrews, who had speedily become 
a warm friend of the young civil engineers. 

The work had proved absorbing from the start 
to Dave, and it must be said that the senator’s son 
was almost equally interested. Both kept up their 
studies every day and kept their eyes and ears 
wide open, and consequently made rapid progress. 
On more than one occasion Mr. Obray had given 
them encouraging words and shown his satisfac- 
tion, and Frank Andrews was enthusiastic. 

“ You fellows keep on the way you have started, 
and some day you’ll be at the top of the ladder,” 
was the way Andrews expressed himself. 

The two young civil engineers had remained at 
work on the Catalco Bridge for nearly a year. 
Then the task had been turned over to another 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 17 

gang, and the Obray outfit, as it was commonly 
called, had been sent up from Texas into Mon- 
tana, to take up the work of roadbed and bridge 
construction for the M. C. & D. Railroad. 

This railroad was simply a feeder of one of the 
main lines, yet it was thought that in time it would 
become a highly important branch. The work to 
be undertaken was unusually difficult, and it was an 
open secret that several construction companies 
had refused even to give figures on it. 

“ We’ve got our work cut out for us up here,” 
had been Frank Andrews’ remark to Mr. Obray, 
after the pair had gone over the situation care- 
fully. 

“ Right you are, Andrews,” the manager of the 
construction gang had answered. “ It looks all 
right on paper, but we are going to have a good 
many difficulties which can’t be put down in black 
and white.” 

“ What we’ve got to guard against, to my way 
of thinking, is landslides,” the assistant had 
answered. 

Since beginning work for the Mentor Construc- 
tion Company, Dave and Roger had had two op- 
portunities for returning to the East. They had 
come by the way of Washington, where Senator 
Morr and his wife were now residing, and had 
also stopped off at Philadelphia to visit Phil Law- 
rence. Then they had made their way to Crum- 


1 8 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


ville, there to put in a most delightful time with 
Dave’s folks and the Wadsworths. As my old 
readers are aware, to Dave there was no girl in 
the world quite so sweet and lovable as Jessie 
Wadsworth, while it was noticed that Roger and 
Dave’s sister Laura were together whenever oc- 
casion permitted. 

The two young civil engineers had been in Mon- 
tana now for about three weeks, and during that 
time they had gone on numerous errands to places 
ten and even twenty miles away. On arrival they 
had hoped to visit Star Ranch, but had learned 
that this place was nearly a hundred miles off. 
They had looked at some of the local mines with 
much interest, and had likewise visited several 
ranches. 

“ We’ll get to know this whole district like a 
book before we get through with it,” had been 
Roger’s comment. 

“ Maybe,” Dave had answered. “ Just the 
same, if I were you I wouldn’t go too far away 
from the regular trails without a pocket compass. 
Getting lost among these mountains might prove 
very serious.” 

The two young civil engineers had started off 
on their errand that morning in high spirits, due 
not alone to the fact that both were feeling in the 
best of health and were doing well in their chosen 
profession, but also to the fact that the day before 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 19 

they had received a number of letters from home, 
including a warm epistle to Dave from Jessie and 
an equally tender missive from Laura to Roger. 

At their end the two girls had written each in the 
confidence of the other, so that the two chums did 
not hesitate to talk over the contents of both let- 
ters between them. 

“ Oh, we’ve got the brightest prospects in the 
world before us ! ” Dave had cried when they had 
set out, and in the exuberance of his spirits he had 
thrown his cap high up in the air. 

But the prospect at this particular minute did 
not seem to be so bright. The rain was coming 
down steadily, accompanied by sharp crashes of 
thunder and vivid flashes of lightning, and the 
two youths had all they could do to keep their 
feet as they sped along in the direction the run- 
away horses had taken. 

“ This is the worst ever ! ” groaned Roger, as 
both presently came to a halt with the rocks on 
one side of them and the forest on the other. 
“ I can’t see anything of those horses, can you? ” 

Dave did not for the moment reply. He was 
waiting for the next flash of lightning, and when 
it came he strained his eyes in an effort to locate 
the vanished steeds. The effort, however, was a 
vain one. 

“ They’re gone, that’s sure,” he announced 
gloomily. “ If the storm didn’t make so much 


20 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

noise we might be able to hear them clattering 
over the rocks; but between the wind and the 
thunder that’s impossible.” 

“ They had to come this way, for it’s the only 
way. Let us go on a little farther.” 

As there was nothing else to do, Dave followed 
his chum along the edge of the forest and at last 
the pair reached the spot where they had left the 
road. Here the pool of water had become much 
larger and deeper. 

“ We don’t seem to be getting anywhere,” 
grumbled the senator’s son, as they came again to 
a halt. “ Just look at this ! It’s a miniature 
lake!” 

“ We’ll have to get around it somehow, Roger,” 
was the reply. a Let us try the other side this 
time.” 

“ But what about the horses? ” 

“ If they came up here on the roadway I’ve an 
idea they started straight for camp. They 
wouldn’t know where else to go.” 

Not caring to stand still in such a downpour, 
the two started to skirt the pond, going in the op- 
posite direction to that which they had before 
taken. They had to clamber over a number of 
rough rocks and through some brushwood 
heavily laden with water, so that by the time they 
reached the other side they were as wet as if they 
had taken an involuntary bath. 


SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST 21 

“ Well, there’s one consolation,” announced 
Roger grimly. “ We couldn’t get any wetter if 
we tried.” 

“ Come on. Let us leg it for camp as fast as 
we can,” returned Dave. “ It’s pretty cold out 
here, drenched like this.” 

“ Wait a minute! I think I saw something! ” 
cried the senator’s son suddenly. u Look! ” 

He pointed off to one side of the roadway, and 
both waited until another flash of lightning lit up 
the scene. 

“ The horses ! ” 

They were right. There, not over a hundred 
yards away, stood the two runaway steeds, partly 
sheltered by several big trees. Their heads had 
been down, but now they suddenly came up as if 
in fresh alarm. 

“ Do you think we can catch them, Dave?” 
gasped the senator’s son. 

“ We’ve got to do it, Roger,” was the reply. 
“ But be careful, or they’ll get away as sure as 
fate. Here, you approach them from the right 
and I’ll go around to the left. And don’t let them 
get past you, no matter what happens.” 


CHAPTER III 


A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 

Fortunately for the two chums, the flash of 
lightning which had revealed the two horses to 
them was followed by something of a lull in the 
storm and this served to keep the steeds from 
stampeding again. 

“ Be careful, Roger,” cautioned Dave, as they 
separated to do as our hero had advised. 

“ Do you want me to take my own horse or the 
one which happens to be nearest to me?” ques- 
tioned the senator’s son. 

“ Take the nearest, by all means — and be sure 
to hold on tight ! ” 

In the darkness, and with the rain still coming 
down steadily, the two approached closer and 
closer to the horses. One animal gave a low 
snort, but whether of fear or recognition of his 
master could not be ascertained. 

“ I guess we’ve got them, all right enough,” 
sang out Roger, as he made a dash to cover the 
dozen feet that separated him from the nearest 
steed. 


22 


A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 


23 


Dave was a few steps farther away from the 
other horse. At that instant came another clap 
of thunder, followed almost instantly by the light- 
ning. Then came a crash in the forest, showing 
that a tree close by had been struck. 

The nervous horses wheeled around and reared 
up. Then one started in one direction and the 
other in another. 

“ Grab him, Roger ! Don’t let him get away ! ” 
yelled Dave, and made a wild leap for the animal 
nearest him. He caught the loose rein, and an 
instant later had a firm hold on the steed. The 
horse did considerable prancing, but the youth, 
who some seasons before had tamed a bronco at 
Star Ranch, was not daunted. He brought the 
animal to a standstill, and then, seeing that it was 
his own mount, leaped lightly into the saddle. 

“ Now behave yourself, old boy,” he said 
soothingly, patting the animal on the neck. 
“ You’re all right. Take it easy.” 

In the meanwhile, Roger was having an excit- 
ing experience with his own horse. The animal 
had tried to back away from him, and had gotten 
a hind leg fast between two trees. Now he be- 
gan to kick out wildly, hitting one of the trees sev- 
eral resounding blows. 

“ Whoa there ! Whoa ! ” cried the senator’s 
son; but his horse continued to kick out until, with 
a wrench, he got the other foot free. Then he 


24 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

began to prance around once more, showing every 
evidence of wanting to run away. 

“ Wait! I’ll hold him while you get into the 
saddle!” cried Dave, riding up. And then he 
placed himself directly in front of Roger’s mount. 

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the sena- 
tor’s son made a leap and got safely into the sad- 
dle; and then the two runaway horses settled down 
to behaving themselves decently. 

“ This was luck, all right,” remarked Dave, 
when the brief excitement was over. 

“ Right you are,” was the ready reply. “ I 
didn’t fancy walking back to the camp.” 

“ Nor losing two such valuable horses,” added 
our hero. “ If they had failed to return perhaps 
Mr. Obray would have made us pay for them, 
and that would make a big hole in our salaries.” 

Making sure that the horses should not get 
away from them again, the two young civil en- 
gineers rode back to the road, and then with cau- 
tion picked their way along on the right-hand side 
of some ever-increasing ponds of water. This 
was slow and dangerous work, the horses slipping 
and sliding among the wet rocks and loose stones, 
and more than once getting into mud and water 
up to their knees. But at last that peril was left 
behind, and once again the youths found them- 
selves on comparatively solid ground and headed 
in the direction of the construction camp. 



Dave made a wild leap for the animal nearest him 

Page 23. 


















. 















































A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 


25 

“ We’ll sure have a story to tell when we get 
back,” remarked Roger, as they rode along side 
by side. 

“ Yes. But we’ll want to change our togs be- 
fore we start to tell it,” returned Dave grimly. 
“ I feel as if I had jumped overboard with all my 
clothing on.” 

“ It looks to me as if the storm was passing 
away,” continued the senator’s son, gazing up at 
the sky. 

“ Oh, more than likely it will stop raining as 
soon as we get back, Roger. It would be just our 
luck.” 

It was true that the storm was passing, and they 
were still some distance from the construction 
camp when the rain practically ceased. A por- 
tion of the clouds rolled away, making the sky 
much clearer. 

“ I’ll bet the sun comes out as brightly as ever 
before it sets,” ventured Roger. “Hang it all! 
why couldn’t we have found some shelter during 
this awful downpour? Then we wouldn’t have 
got wet to the skin.” 

“ Never mind, Roger. There is no use in cry- 
ing over spilt milk. Don’t forget how thankful 
we are that we got our horses back.” 

The chums were still out of sight of the con- 
struction camp when they heard a clatter of hoofs 
on the stony roadway ahead of them. In a min- 


26 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


ute more a figure, clad in a semi-cowboy outfit, 
came galloping toward them. 

“ Hello! who can that be?” cried Roger. 

“ Maybe it’s one of our men coming out to look 
for us,” answered Dave. “ Perhaps Mr. Obray 
or Frank Andrews got worried when it began to 
blow so and lighten so hard.” 

The two young civil engineers slackened their 
pace, expecting that the newcomer would halt as 
soon as he saw them. They drew up to one side 
of the road, and were somewhat surprised to see 
the person on horseback go by without paying any 
attention to them. He was a fellow about their 
own age and had his head bent down over his 
horse’s neck as if he was in deep thought. 

Both of the young civil engineers stared at the 
rider as if he were a ghost. Neither of them said 
a word, but they both looked after the passer-by 
as if they could not believe the evidence of their 
senses. 

“ Dave, did you see him? ” came at last in an 
excited tone from Roger. 

“ I certainly did, Roger! ” 

“ It was Nick Jasniff ! ” 

“ So it was ! ” 

“ But how in the world did he get here? ” 

“ I don’t know. I thought he was in prison ! ” 
“ So he was — we saw him sentenced ourselves, 
after we caught him on Cave Island.” 


A SURPRISE OF TPIE ROAD 


27 

“ And his sentence can’t be up yet. The time is 
too short.” 

“ Maybe he broke jail or got out sooner on ac- 
count of good behavior. You know they give 
prisoners some time off if they behave themselves 
well.” 

“ You don’t think we could be mistaken? ” 

“ I don’t think so. If that fellow was not Nick 
Jasniff, it was his double.” 

“ Oh, don’t say anything about doubles ! ” cried 
Dave quickly. “ I had all I want of that sort of 
thing with Ward Porton. I’m quite sure that fel- 
low was Nick Jasniff himself. He had that same 
hang-dog, slouching way about him he had when 
he went to Oak Hall.” 

“ But what can he be doing out here in Mon- 
tana?” 

“ I don’t know, — unless he may have thought 
that some of the Merwells were still out here. 
He, of course, must know about Mr. Merwell dis- 
posing of the Three X Ranch.” 

“ You don’t suppose he came out here to see us, 
do you? ” 

“ To see us? Not on your life ! Why should 
he want to see us? He knows well enough that 
we have no use for him.” 

“ But maybe he wants to get square with us. 
You know he threatened us in all sorts of ways 
after we had him arrested. And you know what an 


28 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

awful wicked fellow he is, Dave. Didn’t he try 
once in the Oak Hall gym to brain you with an 
Indian club? ” 

“Yes; I remember that only too well, Roger. 
Just the same, I don’t think a fellow like Jasniff 
would come away out here to square accounts with 
us. It’s more likely he came out here to get away 
from the people who know him. Maybe he 
thought he could start life over again in a place 
like this, where nobody knew him.” 

“ Humph! possibly you’re right. But if that’s 
the case, I don’t want him to come around where 
I am. I have no use for a jailbird,” grumbled 
the senator’s son. 

The youths had resumed their journey, and a 
few minutes later they came into sight of the con- 
struction camp. This consisted of a rudely-built 
office, backed up by a score or more of smaller 
buildings used as bunk-houses. At the end of a 
row was a large, low building in which was located 
the kitchen and also the mess hall, or “ Palace of 
Eats,” as some of the engineers had christened it. 
Still further away was a small shed for horses, 
with a corral attached. 

“ Hello ! I was wondering what had become 
of you two chaps,” cried Frank Andrews, as they 
rode up to the building wherein they and the as- 
sistant and some others had their quarters. 
“ Some let-down you got caught in.” 


A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 


29 


“ I should say so! ” cried Roger. “ We came 
within an ace of being drowned.” 

“ Be thankful that you weren’t struck by light- 
ning,” returned the older engineer, with a twinkle 
in his eyes. “ I suppose you’ll want to get some 
dry duds on before you make any report about 
those marks.” 

“ The marks are all there, just as Mr. Obray 
expected they would be,” answered Dave. “ I’ve 
got a list of them here in my notebook.” 

“ By the way, Mr. Andrews, was there a 
stranger here a little while ago — a fellow about 
our age?” questioned Roger. 

“ There was somebody here. I don’t know 
who it was,” answered the assistant. “ He was 
over at the main office, talking to Mr. Obray.” 

u And you don’t know who he was? ” 

“ No.” Frank Andrews gazed at the two 
chums questioningly. “ Anything wrong about 
him?” 

“ That is what we want to find out,” answered 
the senator’s son. “We thought we knew him; 
and if so he isn’t the kind of fellow that any one 
would want around here.” 

“Why, how is that?” questioned Frank An- 
drews. And thereupon, in a few brief words, 
Roger and Dave told about Nick Jasniff and his 
doings. 

“You’re right! We don’t want any jailbirds 


3 o DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

around this camp ! ” cried the assistant. “ When 
you go up to the office you had better tell Mr. 
Obray about this.” 

Dave and Roger were glad enough to get under 
shelter. They lost no time in taking a good rub- 
down and in changing their apparel. Then they 
hurried over to the office of the construction camp, 
where they found the manager and several of his 
assistants going over various papers and blue- 
prints. 

“ Got back, eh? ” said Mr. Obray, with a smile. 
“ You certainly didn’t have a very nice day for the 
trip.” 

“ Oh, well, it’s all in the day’s work, Mr. 
Obray,” answered Dave lightly. 

“ And we had one advantage coming back,” put 
in Roger. “ We didn’t suffer the least bit from 
dust;” and at this sally a smile lit up the features 
of all present. They liked Dave and Roger very 
much, and the fact that Dave’s chum was the son 
of a United States Senator added something to 
the importance of both of the young men. 

Getting out his notebook, Dave lost no time in 
turning in his report, which was supplemented by 
what Roger had to say. Then the two young 
civil engineers were asked a number of questions, 
to which they replied as clearly as possible. 

“ I guess that’s about all,” said Mr. Obray 
finally. “ I think that makes it pretty clear. 


A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 


3i 


Don’t you, Mr. Chase? ” he continued, turning to 
one of the other men present. 

“ I think so,” answered Mr. Chase. “ But 
we’ll still have to make an investigation up there 
at Number Six. I’m not satisfied about the for- 
mation of that rock. I think we’re due for a 
lot of trouble.” 

“ Well, we’ll meet it as it comes — there is no 
use in anticipating it,” answered Ralph Obray 
briefly. 

He was a man who was never daunted, no mat- 
ter how great the obstacles that confronted him. 
It was his clear-headedness that had won more 
than one engineering victory for the Mentor Con- 
struction Company when all the other engineers 
had given up a task as impossible. 

“ Mr. Obray, we would like to ask you a few 
questions in private if you don’t mind,” said Dave 
in a low voice, when he saw the other civil en- 
gineers turn away to consult a map that hung on 
one of the office walls. 

“ All right, Porter. Come right in here,” 
answered the manager, and led the way to a 
corner, where he had a small private office. 

“ I wish to ask you about a fellow we met on 
the road just before we got back to camp about 
half an hour ago,” explained our hero. “ He was 
a fellow about our own age. He was on horse- 
back, and I thought he might have been here.” 


32 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ There was a fellow here, and he left less than 
an hour ago,” answered the manager. “ I should 
think he was about your age, or maybe a year or 
two older.” 

“ Was he a tall, lanky sort of fellow with a 
rather slouchy air about him? ” questioned Roger. 

“ Yes, that description would fit him pretty 
well.” 

“ And did he have a squint in one eye? ” ques- 
tioned Dave suddenly, remembering a peculiarity 
about Nick Jasniff which he had almost forgot- 
ten. 

“ Yes, there certainly was something the mat- 
ter with one of his eyes. The upper lid seemed 
to droop considerably.” 

“ Might I ask what that fellow was doing 
here? ” 

“ He came here looking for a job. He said he 
was working on one of the ranches in this vicinity 
but that he preferred to work for us and learn 
civil engineering if we would give him a chance. 
I told him we were pretty well filled up as far as 
our engineering corps was concerned, but said he 
might call some other time. You see, Barry and 
Lundstrom are thinking of leaving, and if they do 
we might have a chance for one or two outsiders, 
provided they were of the right sort.” 

“ Well, if this fellow is the person we think he 


A SURPRISE OF THE ROAD 33 

is, he isn’t any one you would care to have around 
here, Mr. Obray,” cried Roger. 

“And why not?” demanded the manager of 
the construction camp. 

“ Because if he is the fellow we think he is, he 
is a thief and a jailbird! ” 


CHAPTER IV 


what phil’s letter told 

Mr. Ralph Obray was much surprised at the 
statement made by Roger, and his face showed it. 

“ That is a pretty strong statement to make 
against anybody,” he said slowly. “ Perhaps you 
had better explain.” 

“ I can do that easily enough,” returned the 
senator’s son. “ And Dave here can tell you even 
more than I can.” 

“ By the way,” broke in Dave, “ may I ask if 
the fellow left any name? ” 

“ Oh, yes.” The manager of the construction 
camp glanced at a slip of paper lying on his desk. 
“ Jasper Nicholas.” 

“ Jasper Nicholas! ” cried Roger. “ What do 
you know about that? ” 

“ It sounds a good deal like Nicholas Jasniff 
turned around,” answered our hero. He looked 
at the manager. “ The fellow we have in mind 
was named Nicholas Jasniff,” he explained. 

“ Tell me what you know about the fellow,” re- 
turned Mr. Obray shortly. 

Thereupon the two chums related how they had 
34 


WHAT PHIL’S LETTER TOLD 35 

been schoolmates with Nick Jasniff and Link Mer- 
well at Oak Hall and how Jasniff had one day at- 
tacked Dave in the gymnasium with an Indian club 
and how the fellow had run away. Then they 
told of the robbery of the Wadsworth jewelry 
works, and of how Jasniff and Merwell had been 
, followed to Cave Island and captured. 

“ At the last minute Merwell got away,” con- 
tinued Dave, “ but the authorities hung on to Jas- 
niff and he was tried and sent to prison for a long 
term of years. How he got out I don’t know.” 

“ That is certainly an interesting story,” said 
Mr. Obray. “ But if that fellow Jasniff is in 
prison he can’t be the fellow that called here.” 

“ But look at the similarity in names ! ” broke 
in Roger. “ Oh, I am sure he is the same fel- 
low.” 

“ If he is, we won’t want him around here even 
if he has a right to his liberty,” declared the man- 
ager. “ Our men are all honest — or at least 
we think they are — and we can not take chances 
with a man who has been convicted of a crime. 
Of course, such a fellow has a right to do his best 
to get along in the world; but he had better go 
to some place where nobody knows him.” 

“ Don’t you think we had better try to find out 
whether Jasniff has really served his full term and 
been properly discharged from prison?” re- 
marked Dave. “ If he is a fugitive we ought to 


36 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

capture him and send him back to the authorities.” 

“ You are right there, Porter. It might be a 
good idea for you to send a message to the East 
to find out about this.” 

“ Where do you think I ought to send for in- 
formation? ” 

“ Do you know where he was placed in prison? ” 

“ Oh, yes.” 

“ Then I would send directly to the prison 
authorities.” 

“ Let us send a telegram ! ” cried Roger. “ A 
letter would be too slow. I’ll stand half the ex- 
pense.” 

“ All right, I’ll go you ! ” responded our hero 
quickly. “ If Nick Jasniff got out of prison on the 
sly, he ought to be returned to the place.” 

“ Maybe if he did get out, and we captured 
him, we might get a reward, Dave.” 

“ That is true, too — provided a reward has 
been offered.” 

“ You seem to be pretty sure that this fellow 
who called here is the man you are after,” re- 
marked Mr. Obray. “ Don’t you think you may 
be' mistaken ? In that storm, and with the fellow 
galloping past you on horseback all hunched up 
to keep from getting wet, you may have made a 
mistake.” 

At this remark the face of the senator’s son be- 
came clouded. 


WHAT PHIL’S LETTER TOLD 37 

“ It might be so, Dave. To tell the truth, we 
didn’t get a very good look at him. And yet I 
think it was Nick Jasniff.” 

“ I’m almost certain of it, Roger. I’ll never 
forget that face of his. I studied it pretty well 
when he was up for trial and we testified against 
him.” 

“ You might wait until he comes here again,” 
suggested the manager. 

“ Yes. But then we wouldn’t have the infor- 
mation we want,” declared Dave. “ I’d rather 
pay out my money on that telegram and learn 
the truth. Then, if Jasniff was wanted by the 
authorities, we could make a prisoner of him right 
then and there.” 

“ That is true.” 

The matter was discussed for several minutes 
longer, and then the two chums walked back to 
their quarters. Here they talked the matter over 
between themselves. 

“ We can’t send a telegram to-night; the office 
closes at six o’clock,” declared Dave. “ We can 
write it out, however, and send it the first chance 
we get in the morning. I think Mr. Obray will 
let you or me ride down to the telegraph office with 
it.” The nearest station from which a telegram 
could be sent was quite a distance away, and a tele- 
phone line between the two points, while it was be- 
ing erected, was not yet in operation. 


38 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Of course Frank Andrews wished to know what 
had taken place, and the youths told him. He 
shook his head sadly. 

“It’s too bad I Especially with a young fel- 
low,” he declared. “ That term in prison will 
hang over him like a cloud all the rest of his life. 
Kind-hearted people may talk all they please and 
do all they possibly can — the fact remains that if 
a man has once been in prison, unless he can prove 
that he was innocent, very few people will care to 
have anything to do with him.” 

“ If Jasniff were a different kind of fellow I’d 
have a different feeling for him,” said Dave; and 
his face showed his earnestness. “ If he had been 
led into crime by others it would be a different 
story. But so far as I can remember, he was al- 
ways hot-tempered, vicious, and bound to have his 
own way. He was the leader in that robbery — 
not Merwell. And when he was captured he 
acted in anything but a penitent mood. On that 
account I can’t get up much sympathy for him.” 

“He doesn’t deserve any sympathy!” cried 
Roger. “ Why, every time I think of how he 
grabbed up that Indian club in the Oak Hall gym- 
nasium and did his best to brain you with it, it 
makes my blood run cold ! ” 

“ He certainly must have been a pretty wicked 
boy to attempt anything like that,” was Frank An- 
drews’ comment. “ It’s bad enough for school- 


WHAT PHIL’S LETTER TOLD 


39 


boys to fight with their fists; but that at least is a 
fair way to do.” 

The two chums were tired out from their 
strenuous adventures of the day, and were glad to 
retire early. During the night the storm cleared 
away entirely, and in the morning the sun shown 
as brightly as ever. 

“ If you don’t mind, Dave, I’ll take that tele- 
gram down to the office,” said Roger, while the 
pair were dressing. “ I’m expecting a box that 
father said he was sending, and I can ask for that 
at the same time.” 

“ All right, Roger. But you had better wait 
until the mail gets in. There may be some other 
message we’ll want to send.” 

The mail was brought in while the youths were 
at breakfast, and was distributed immediately 
after that repast was over. 

“ Hello, here’s a letter from Phil! ” cried our 
hero, as he noticed the postmark “ Philadelphia.” 

“ I’ve got the box from dad,” returned the sena- 
tor’s son, “ so I won’t have to ask about that at 
the express office.” 

“ I knew it! ” exclaimed Dave, who had ripped 
the letter open and was scanning its contents. 
“ Phil is coming out here to pay a visit to Star 
Ranch; and he says he may bring Shadow Hamil- 
ton with him. Isn’t that the best ever? ” 

“ So it is, Dave ! But it’s no more than I ex- 


4 o DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

pected — at least so far as Phil is concerned. I 
knew he couldn’t remain away from Belle Endi- 
cott very long,” and the senator’s son winked sug- 
gestively. 

“ Here’s a lot of news about the other fellows, 
Luke Watson, Polly Vane, and Jim Murphy. 
Polly has gone into business with an uncle of his, 
and Jim Murphy has a well-paying position up at 
Yale.” 

“ I’m glad to hear it. Polly Vane was one of 
the finest fellows that ever lived, even if he was 
somewhat girlish. And as for Jim Murphy — 
there was never a better monitor around Oak 
Hall.” 

Dave had turned over to the last sheet of the 
six-page communication Phil Lawrence had sent. 
Here the letter proper came to an end, but there 
was a postscript added in lead pencil. This ran 
as follows: 

“ You will be interested to know that some 
time ago Nick Jasniff’s case was brought up before 
the Board of Pardons by a Committee on Prison 
Reform. The men and women composing the 
committee made' a strong plea for Jasniff because 
of his age, and I understand they made a very 
favorable impression on the Pardon Board. If 
Jasniff is pardoned, he will be getting out without 
having served even half of his sentence. I wish 
I had been there to tell the Board what sort of a 
fellow he is.” 


WHAT PHIL’S LETTER TOLD 41 

“Here’s the milk in the cocoanut, Roger!’' 
cried Dave, and read aloud what Phil had writ- 
ten. 

“ Humph, so that’s the truth of it,” murmured 
the senator’s son. “ More than likely that com- 
mittee worked on the feelings of the Pardoning 
Board so that they gave Jasniff his liberty. Well, 
if that’s the case, there won’t be any need for 
sending that telegram.” 

“ You’re right. If he was pardoned, that ends 
it, and he has as much right to his liberty as we 
have to ours. Just the same, I think they made a 
mistake. When he was tried, I am sure the 
judge, on account of his age, gave him as short a 
sentence as he deemed best.” 

“ Pm sure of that too, Dave ! Why, one of the 
lawyers told me that if Jasniff had been ten years 
older he would have gotten twice as long a sen- 
tence.” 

“ I think I had better go to Mr. Obray with 
this news,” said Dave. “ You can tell Andrews 
if you want to.” 

Our hero found the manager of the construc- 
tion camp just preparing to go out with several of 
his assistant engineers. Explaining the situation, 
Dave allowed Mr. Obray to read the postscript of 
Phil’s letter. 

“ Looks as if you were right after all, and the 
fellow who was here had been pardoned,” was 


42 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Ralph Obray’s comment. “ In that case, you 
can’t do anything about having him held. Just 
the same, if he is that sort I won’t want him 
around.” 

“ If he comes again, may we see him to make 
sure that he is really this Nick Jasniff ? ” 

“ Certainly, Porter. If you are anywhere near, 
I’ll hold the man at the office, or wherever we hap- 
pen to be, and send for you and Morr.” 

Dave and Roger were now working under the 
directions of Frank Andrews. In the gang were 
two others — a young man named Larry Bond, 
and an elderly engineer named Hixon. All had 
become well acquainted and were good friends. 
Hixon was from the West and had spent many 
years of his life on the cattle ranges and in the 
gold fields. 

“ I was a prospector for six years,” he once de- 
clared. “ But, believe me, it didn’t pay. Some- 
times I struck it pretty rich ; but then would come 
long dry spells when I wouldn’t get a thing. All 
told, I didn’t do as well, year in and year out, as 
I am now doing at regular wages.” 

Andrews’ gang, as it was termed, had some 
work to do at Section Five of the proposed line, 
the work, of course, being preliminary to that 
which was to be made on the erection of the 
bridges to be built. This was in a decidedly rocky 
part of the territory, and the young civil engineers 


WHAT PHIL’S LETTER TOLD 43 

and the others had no easy time of it making their 
survey. 

“ Some different from sitting in your room at 
Oak Hall working out a problem in geometry, 
eh?” remarked Dave to Roger, after a par- 
ticularly hard climb over the rocks. 

“ I should say so,” panted the senator’s son. 

“ You look out that that chain doesn’t get away 
from you,” cried Dave, pointing to the long 
coiled-up steel measure which the other was car- 
rying at his belt. The real civil engineer’s, or 
surveyor’s, chain is largely a thing of the past, the 
steel measure having taken its place. 

Frank Andrews and the others were at a dis- 
tance and young Bond was wigwagging his signals 
across a deep cut in the hills. Now Dave pre- 
pared to signal in return, at the same time hold- 
ing up his leveling-rod as required. Roger at- 
tempted to climb around on the rough rocks, and 
then suddenly uttered a cry of dismay. 

“ What’s the matter? ” asked Dave. 

“ That measure ! I just started to fasten it 
tighter to my belt when it slipped out of my hands. 
There it goes — sliding down the rocks out there,” 
and the senator’s son pointed to a spot at least 
fifty feet below them. 

While Dave was still signaling and moving his 
leveling-rod farther along as desired, Roger began 
to scramble down the rocks in the direction where 


44 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

the steel measure had fallen. He was gone for 
fully ten minutes when suddenly Dave heard a 
yell. 

“ What’s the matter, Roger? ” he called, drop- 
ping the leveling-rod and the signal flag he held. 

“ It’s a snake — and a big one, too ! ” screamed 
the senator’s son. “ Oh, Dave, come here and 
help me! My leg is caught between the rocks, 
and it’s a rattlesnake ! ” 


CHAPTER V 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 

The announcement that Roger had his leg 
caught between the rocks and that a rattlesnake 
was about to attack him filled Dave with alarm. 

“ Oh, Roger, are you sure it’s a rattlesnake? ” 

“Yes! Yes! Come down and help me! 
Quick! ” 

“ I will. Can’t you hit him with a rock or 
something? ” 

“ I will if I can. But hurry up — and bring 
that axe or something with you ! ” 

When leveling parties, as they are officially 
called, go out, one man often carries an axe with 
which to clear away any obstructions which may 
prevent a clear sight. On this occasion Roger 
had been carrying the axe, as well as the chain, 
and the implement now lay close to where our 
hero stood. 

Grabbing up the axe, Dave lost no time in 
scrambling down the rocks. As he did this he 
heard a stone strike on some rocks below and knew 
that Roger was throwing at the snake. 

45 


46 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

u Oh, Dave ! Help ! ” yelled the senator’s son. 
“ He’s getting ready to strike! ” 

With one wild leap Dave came down to within 
a few feet of where his chum stood between two 
rocks which reached up to his waist. One leg 
was fast between the rocks, and while the unfor- 
tunate youth was endeavoring wildly to extricate 
himself from his predicament, he was shying one 
loose stone after another at a snake that was coiled 
up in something of a hollow less than a dozen feet 
away. The hollow was so situated that exit from 
it could only be had in the direction occupied by 
the young civil engineer. 

As Dave approached he saw that it was indeed 
a rattlesnake that his chum had disturbed. The 
reptile was at least five feet in length and of cor- 
responding thickness, and was now coiled up as if 
ready to strike. 

It was a moment which called for immediate 
action, and without stopping to think Dave raised 
the axe and sent it whirling forward toward the 
snake. His aim fell short, but this shortness 
proved to be thoroughly effective. The handle of 
the axe came down with a thud on the rocks, send- 
ing the blade flashing in a semi-circle. The sharp- 
ened bit of steel caught the snake in the very center 
of its folds, inflicting several deep cuts. 

Instantly the reptile’s attention was taken from 



Dave raised the axe and sent it whirling forward toward 

the snake —Page 46. 







. 












































































































































































i ' 


























47 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 

Roger. It whirled around swiftly in search of 
the enemy that had struck it and whipped angrily 
at the axe. 

u Oh, Dave! can’t you shoot him?” gasped 
Roger. “ I dropped my pistol when I came down 
over the rocks.” 

In that wild territory it was the custom of every 
one of the engineering gang to carry firearms. 
Dave had a small automatic pistol in his hip pocket, 
and this he now brought into play. 

Crack! Crack! Crack! went the weapon 
three times in rapid succession. The first shot did 
not take effect, but the second and third hit the 
mark, and the rattlesnake twisted and turned in 
its death agony. Then, placing the pistol back in 
his pocket, our hero raised up a stone almost as 
large as his head and with it put the reptile out 
of its misery. 

“Oh, Dave, is he — is he dead?” panted 
Roger. His face had gone white, and his whole 
attitude showed how unstrung he was. 

“ He’s as dead as a door-nail, Roger,” was the 
answer, after Dave had made a brief inspection of 
the remains. “ He’ll never bother you or any- 
body else again.” 

“ I felt sure he was going to bite me ! ” went on 
the senator’s son with a shudder. 

“ You certainly had a close shave, and I don’t 


48 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

wonder that it scared you, Roger. Think of fac- 
ing a snake like that and not being able to run 
away! ” 

“ He was down in this very hollow where my 
leg is first. Then he glided over to the other hol- 
low and began to rattle and coil up to strike. If 
you hadn’t come down as you did, he would have 
struck me sure;” and the senator’s son shivered 
again. 

“ I think we had better wipe off that axe-handle, 
and the blade, too,” remarked Dave. “ He may 
have gotten some of his poison on it.” 

“ Yes, wipe it off very carefully,” answered 
Roger. “ But first of all I’ve got to get my foot 
loose. It does beat all how I got stuck.” 

“ You didn’t hurt your leg or your foot, did 
you? ” 

“ I scraped my shin a little, but that doesn’t 
count.” 

An inspection was made, and finally Dave had 
to bend down and unlace Roger’s shoe before the 
limb could be gotten out of the space between the 
two rocks. Then the footwear was recovered, 
and the senator’s son put it on once more. In the 
meanwhile, Dave took up the axe rather gingerly 
and also tied a bit of string to the tail of the life- 
less rattlesnake. 

“ We’ll take it back to the camp to show the 
others,” announced our hero. “ They wouldn’t 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 49 

believe our story unless we were able to show the 
snake. Besides that, we can keep the rattles if we 
want to. Some people prize them quite highly as 
trophies.” 

The axe was wiped off with care, and then, 
after Roger had recovered his pistol and also the 
steel measure he had dropped, the pair scrambled 
up the rocks to where Dave had left his flag and 
the leveling-rod. He waved the flag in the air as 
a signal, and presently an answering signal came 
back from the other members of the leveling gang, 
who had been wondering what had become of the 
two assistants. 

“ Say, you fellows have got to attend to busi- 
ness during working hours ! ” cried Frank An- 
drews, when they met. “ If you want to 

Great catfish l where did you get that snake? ” and 
he broke off short to gaze in wonder at the rat- 
tlesnake tied to the string that Roger exhibited. 

“ You have to break off business when you get 
an unexpected caller like that,” replied Dave dryly. 

“ Do you mean to say that rattler attacked 
you?” questioned Larry Bond quickly. 

“ He started to attack Roger.” 

“ And Dave threw the axe at him and then shot 
him,” explained the senator’s son. 

“Some rattler! that’s what he is!” was the 
comment of John Hixon. “ If he struck for you 
he certainly meant business;” and he examined the 


50 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

remains of the rattlesnake with much interest. 

“ We thought we heard several shots, but we 
were not sure,” remarked Frank Andrews. 

“ I guess you didn’t hear them very well because 
we were in something of a hollow,” answered 
Dave; and then he and Roger gave the particulars 
of what had occurred. 

“ You can be mighty lucky that you weren’t 
struck,” declared Hixon emphatically. “ When I 
was out in the gold mines in the northern part of 
this state I knew a man who was struck twice by 
a rattler, and he came about as close to dying as 
any man I ever saw.” 

The adventure had so unnerved Roger that 
Frank Andrews excused him for the rest of the 
day, and he went back to the construction camp, 
taking the remains of the rattlesnake with him. 
Here the story about the reptile soon spread; and 
that evening all the men connected with the camp 
came in to view the rattlesnake. 

“ I’m very thankful that you got out of this as 
luckily as you did,” remarked Mr. Obray to Roger. 
Then he told all of his men that they must be 
very careful when they went among the rocks and 
through the bushes. “ Because, you know,” he 
explained, “ where there is one rattlesnake there 
may be more. I was told by those who made the 
first survey for the railroad that they saw no 
snakes of any kind in this vicinity. Evidently, 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 51 

however, there was one snake that they missed.” 

“ And I hope he’s the only one,” put in Frank 
Andrews. 

The snake scare was the main topic of conversa- 
tion for several days, and it is safe to say that no 
one went anywhere without having his eyes wide 
open for a possible appearance of some reptile. 
But no more snakes — rattlers or otherwise — put 
in an appearance. 

Phil had written that he would come out to 
Montana in about a week and would stop at the 
construction camp before going to the Endicott 
place. Dave and Roger, of course, looked for- 
ward to the visit with much pleasure. 

“ We’ll have to ask for a day off just to show 
Phil around,” said Dave. 

“ That’s so. And among other points of in- 
terest we can show him the spot where you killed 
the rattler,” answered his chum, with a grim 
smile. 

“ Yes, we can do that.” 

“ I hope Shadow Hamilton comes with him. I 
could even stand it to hear some of Shadow’s old- 
est chestnuts of stories,” went on Roger. “ It 
would seem like old times at Oak Hall.” 

“ Let us trust that Shadow has a new batch of 
stories to tell,” responded Dave. “ We haven’t 
seen him in such a while he has had plenty of time 
to gather in a new crop.” 


52 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Several days went by, and the young civil en- 
gineers were kept so busy that they had little time 
to think about the coming of Phil Lawrence and 
Shadow Hamilton. Once or twice they thought 
of Nick Jasniff and asked Mr. Obray if that indi- 
vidual had shown himself. 

“ Not yet,” was the manager’s reply. “ May- 
be he got wind that you were here and that is 
keeping him away.” 

On the afternoon of the fourth day follow- 
ing the killing of the rattlesnake, Dave and Roger 
were hard at work in Section Five when one of the 
general utility men around the camp came riding 
up on horseback and leading another steed by the 
halter. 

“ Mr. Obray sent me for you,” he announced to 
the chums. “ You are to take these two horses 
and ride down to the office as fast as you can. 
Some young man is there that you wanted to see 
— the fellow who came here some days ago look- 
ing for a job.” 

“ It must be Nick Jasniff ! ” exclaimed Dave, and 
lost no time in leaping into the saddle. He was 
followed by Roger; and both hurried off along the 
trail leading to the construction camp. 

“ Let us sneak up to the office by the back way 
and listen to what Nick Jasniff has to say,” sug- 
gested Dave while they were on the way. 

This suited Roger, and coming into view of the 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 53 

camp they left the horses at the shed and hurried 
along past the bunk-houses to the rear of the of- 
fice. Here a window was wide open, and, look- 
ing through this, they saw Mr. Obray at a desk, 
and sitting near him was his visitor, hat in hand. 

“ There is no mistake about him. It’s Nick 
Jasniff,” whispered the senator’s son. 

He was right, it was indeed the former bully of 
Oak Hall, the rascal who had been sent to prison 
for the robbery of Mr. Wadsworth’s jewelry 
works. Jasniff was talking very earnestly to the 
manager of the construction camp. 

“ Yes, I am working over at the Double Eight 
Ranch,” Jasniff was saying. “ I’ve been there 
now for quite a while, but I don’t like it very 
much. You see, I’ve been used to office life, and 
working around the construction of skyscrapers, 
and things like that. I had a pretty good job out 
in San Francisco and another one in Seattle. I 
would much rather work for a concern like yours 
than to stick to cow-punching.” 

“ How long have you been at Double Eight 
Ranch? ” questioned Mr. Obray. He was doing 
what he could to put in time until Dave and Roger 
might arrive. 

“ Been there nearly three months.” 

“ And did you come directly from San Francisco 
or Seattle? ” 

“ Oh — I — er — came from Seattle,” re- 


54 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

sponded Nick Jasniff hesitatingly. “ I was — er 
— out of work for about six weeks.” 

“ And how long did you work in Seattle? ” 

“ A little over a year. I would have stayed 
there longer, only the firm that employed me went 
out of business,” continued the fellow who had 
been in prison glibly. 

“Ever been in the East — in New York or 
Philadelphia? ” 

“ No, sir. I never got any farther East than 
Chicago.” 

At this reply from Jasniff Dave poked Roger in 
the side and both looked at each other knowingly. 

“He’s the same Jasniff,” whispered the sena- 
tor’s son. “ He always did have a smooth 
tongue.” 

“ Yes. And that smooth tongue of his got him 
into more than one difficulty,” responded our hero. 

The pair remained silent for a minute or two 
longer listening to the questions put by Ralph 
Obray and the answers made by Nick Jasniff. 
Finally the questions became so personal that the 
fellow who had been in prison commenced to grow 
suspicious. 

“ Well, will you have an opening for me or 
not? ” he demanded at last, arising to his feet. 

At that moment Dave and Roger glided around 
the side of the office and tiptoed in through the 
doorway. They came up directly behind Nick 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 55 

Jasniff before he was aware of their presence. 

“ Here is the fellow if you want to talk to him,” 
said Mr. Obray quickly; and thereupon the visitor 
turned around, to stare in amazement at Dave and 
Roger. 

“ W — w — what ” stammered Nick Jas- 

niff, and was unable to go on. 

“ You didn’t expect to see us, did you, Jasniff? ” 
declared Dave coolly. 

“ You were lucky to get out of prison so 
quickly,” put in Roger. 

“I — I — don’t know you,” faltered Nick Jas- 
niff, and now his face grew purple while the heavy 
beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 

“You don’t know us, eh?” cried Dave. 
“ Well, we know you well enough ! ” 

“ Even if you are traveling under the assumed 
name of Jasper Nicholas,” added Roger slyly. 

“ See here ! I don’t know what you fellows are 
talking about! ” cried Nick Jasniff, straightening 
up. “ Is this some game or not? ” 

“ It is a game — on your part,” answered Dave, 
quickly. 

“ I don’t know what you mean.” 

“ Oh, come, Jasniff, what’s the use of talking 
like this? We know your game thoroughly!” 
burst out Roger. “ We have found out all about 
you, and Mr. Obray here knows about you, too. 
He just sent for us to identify you.” 


56 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

At this announcement Nick Jasniff wheeled 
around to confront the manager. 

“ Is that true? Did you send for these fellows 
to come to identify me ? ” 

“ I did.” Mr. Obray’s face took on a stern 
look. “ They had told me all about you.” 

“They didn’t have any right to do that!” 
blustered the fellow who had been in prison. 

“ Yes, they did. In fact, it was their duty to 
do so. We are all honest men in this camp, and 
we have no use for fellows like you. I wanted 
to make sure that there was no mistake. Now I 
am sure, and you can get out — and stay out.” 

“ I think that Board of Pardons was very 
foolish to pardon you,” Roger could not help re- 
marking. “ They should have let you stay in 
prison to the end of your term.” 

At this remark Nick Jasniff looked for a mo- 
ment blankly at the senator’s son. 

“ Now, see here, you ” 

“ Oh, we know all about how you were 
pardoned,” went on Roger. “ It was a big mis- 
take. But now that they have let you go, I sup- 
pose you have as much right to earn your living 
as anybody.” 

“ But we don’t want you around where we are,” 
added Dave. 

“ Huh, I’m not taking orders from you,” blust- 
ered Nick Jasniff. 


NICK JASNIFF’S VISIT 57 

“ No, but you are taking orders from me,” in- 
terposed Mr. Obray sternly. “ As I said before, 
I want you to leave this place. I don’t want you 
to come here again — understand that;” and he 
arose to his feet to signify that the interview was 
at an end. 

“ All right — I’ll go. But I won’t forget that 
you had me come over here on a fool’s errand,” 
grumbled Nick Jasniff. And then, as he reached 
the doorway and passed outside, he turned around 
and shook his fist at Dave and Roger. “ Just you 
wait! Some day I’ll get square with you for 
this ! ” he cried angrily. 

Then he ran swiftly toward the horse he had 
been riding, leaped into the saddle and rode away. 


CHAPTER VI 


NEWS FROM HOME 

“ He's mad clean through, that’s certain,” re- 
marked Roger, as he and Dave hurried out of the 
office to watch Nick Jasniff gallop away down the 
road leading from the construction camp. 

“ Yes. And I’ve no doubt but he’ll do his best 
to make trouble for us,” replied Dave seriously. 
“ It’s too bad ! I thought we were done with that 
fellow forever.” 

“ Do you suppose he really has a job at the 
Double Eight Ranch? ” queried the senator’s son, 
after a pause, during which they noted Jasniff ’s 
disappearance around a bend of the trail. 

“ He must be working somewhere. Or else 
somebody has supplied him with funds. He can’t 
live on nothing.” 

“ Perhaps he got his funds as he got those 
stolen jewels, Dave.” 

“ That might be true too. They say very few 
men reform after they have once been in prison.” 

“ Let us ask some of the others about this 
Double Eight Ranch.” 


58 


NEWS FROM HOME 


59 

This suggestion was considered a good one, and 
during the next few days they made a number of 
inquiries concerning the ranch in question, and 
learned that it was a large place located in a fertile 
valley about twenty miles away. It was owned by 
a syndicate of Western capitalists and was under 
the management of a man named James Dackley. 
The ranch employed about a dozen experienced 
cowboys and an equal number of assistants. 

“ If Nick Jasniff works there it must be simply 
as an assistant, since he knows little about a cow- 
boy’s duties,” was Dave’s comment. 

“ Yes. And if he is only an assistant he can’t 
be paid very much money. No wonder he wanted 
to join our crowd. I suppose he thought he could 
earn two or three times as much.” 

“ Well, Roger, you can’t blame him for want- 
ing to earn money,” returned Dave briefly. 
“ Now that he has paid the penalty of his crime, 
as the laws puts it, he has as much right to go 
where he pleases, and work at what he pleases, as 
anybody.” 

“ Oh, I’m not begrudging him a chance to earn 
his living,” cried the senator’s son quickly. “ I 
hope he reforms and gets along well in life. I 
only want him to keep away from where I am. 
I think I’ve got a right to pick my company, and I 
don’t propose to pick such fellows as Jasniff.” 

Sunday passed, and then Dave received another 


6o DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


letter from Phil Lawrence stating that the ship- 
owner’s son had been delayed, but that he would 
surely come West in the near future, and that not 
only Shadow Hamilton but also Ben Basswood had 
promised to make the trip with him. Concerning 
Ben, Phil wrote as follows : 

“ You must know how grateful the Basswoods 
are to you and Roger for recovering those thou- 
sands of dollars’ worth of miniatures down there 
on the Border. I think they feel pretty wealthy 
now, having been offered a fine price for some of 
the little paintings. So it was an easy matter for 
Ben to get permission to join Shadow and me 
when the trip was proposed. Ben is wild, think- 
ing what a good time he is going to have, for, 
as you know, he has never had the chance of get- 
ting around that we have had.” 

“ This is better than ever! ” cried Roger, when 
he read the communication. “ Talk about old 
times at Oak Hall! We will tear things wide 
open when they arrive.” 

“ We’ll have to attend to our work, Roger. 
You know we are here to learn all about survey- 
ing and civil engineering. Our play days are very 
largely at an end.” 

“ Oh, I think Mr. Obray and Frank Andrews 
will let us cut loose a little — after they under- 
stand matters,” pleaded the senator’s son. 

The same mail had brought the young men let- 


NEWS FROM HOME 


61 


ters from Jessie and Laura and also an interesting 
communication from Dave’s Uncle Dunston. The 
two girls had been on a trip to New York with 
Mrs. Wadsworth, and had much to tell about their 
sightseeing in and around the metropolis. Both 
said they wished Dave and Roger had been with 
them. 

“ Too bad! But we are a long way from old 
New York,” sighed Roger. “ My, what a grand 
old time we could have had, visiting Bronx Park, 
Coney Island, and a lot of other places ! ” 

“ Yes. And we might have taken an auto trip 
or two,” added Dave, his face brightening. 

“ And think of being with the girls, Dave ! ” 
broke in Roger wistfully. “ It seems a terribly 
long time since we saw them, doesn’t it? ” 

“ It sure does,” answered Dave. He gave 
something of a sigh. “ Well, it can’t be helped. 
If we want to make something of ourselves in this 
world, we’ve got to buckle down and take the bit- 
ter with the sweet. I guess it’s just as hard on the 
girls. They won’t want to go out in company with 
any of the other fellows.” 

“ And we know what we are working for — 
and that is one comfort,” added the senator’s son. 

In his communication to his nephew Dunston 
Porter spoke about having bought some stock in 
the Mentor Construction Company, and having 
gotten Mr. Wadsworth to make the same kind of 


62 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


investment Between them the two had put up 
twenty thousand dollars. 

u That sure is something worth while ! ” cried 
Roger. “ It ought to help your chance with the 
concern.” 

“ Well, if it helps my chance, it’s got to help 
your chance, too, Roger.” 

“ I never thought of the company as an invest- 
ment,” went on the senator’s son. “ I think when 
I write to my father I’ll speak to him about it, and 
tell him of what your uncle and Mr. Wadsworth 
have done. Maybe my father will buy a like 
share.” 

“ That would be fine, Roger. Then both of us 
could feel as if we had a real personal interest in 
the concern we were working for. Of course, it’s 
only a small amount in comparison with what the 
construction company really has invested in this 
business. But every little helps.” 

“ Yes. And it will prove to those higher up 
that we have some interest beyond just earning our 
salaries.” 

Another part of Dunston Porter’s letter re- 
ferred to the clearing up of a tract of land on the 
outskirts of Crumville which belonged jointly to 
the Porters, Mr. Wadsworth and an estate which 
was represented by Mr. Basswood. The real es- 
tate dealer had said that now would be a good 
time in which to lay out streets through the tract 


NEWS FROM HOME 


63 

and sell off the plots for building. There were 
several new factories being erected down along the 
railroad tracks, and the workingmen employed in 
these concerns would want homes. 

“ The tract has not been used for a number of 
years,” wrote Dunston Porter; “and during the 
past six summers a band of gypsies has been mak- 
ing its encampment there. We had quite some 
trouble getting the gypsies to evacuate, and a cou- 
ple of them became so ugly that we had to threaten 
them with arrest. But they have gone at last, 
and we have told them that they cannot come back. 
We expect to lay out the streets and the plots of 
ground immediately, and then Mr. Basswood is 
going to get ready and hold a big auction sale of 
the various parcels. All of us hope to make quite 
some money by the transaction.” 

“ Hurrah for the auction sale of building lots ! ” 
cried Dave. “ I hope they make a barrel of 
money. Wouldn’t it be fun to be there and see 
the various plots sold off? ” 

“ I went to a sale like that in our home town 
years ago,” returned Roger. “ They had a big 
tent put up and furnished refreshments, and a 
small brass band played selections. The auc- 
tioneer was a very gifted talker, and he made a 
wonderful address to the assemblage, telling them 
of all the advantages to be had by buying the lots. 
Then the agents got busy and the lots sold off like 
hot cakes, some for cash and some on the instal- 


64 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

ment plan. At that time there wasn’t a building 
of any kind on the land; but less than a year later 
there were half a dozen rows of houses and half 
that number of barns and garages, and now that 
end of the town is quite thriving.” 

“ I’m sure Crumville is bound to grow,” re- 
turned Dave. “ Just look at what it was when I 
was a small boy and what it is to-day! We have 
three or four times as many people and stores, and 
we have a new railroad station with a good many 
more trains, and two moving picture theaters, two 
new schools, another church, and several new 
factories. And not only that, the business men 
have become so wideawake that they are gather- 
ing in the trade for miles around — trade that 
used to go to other towns.” 

“ Well, I hope it does grow, Dave. That will 
make it so much better for your folks and the 
Wadsworths, and also the Basswoods.” 

On the morning following this conversation 
Dave was preparing to go out with the others 
when one of the clerks from the office came to him 
with the information that Mr. Obray wanted to 
see him at once. He found the manager of the 
construction camp deep in some papers strewn over 
his desk. 

“ Porter, would you like to go on a special er- 
rand for me over to Orella? ” the manager asked 
abruptly. “ I’ve got some important papers that 


NEWS FROM HOME 65 

I wish delivered, and I want to see to it that they 
are placed in the hands of just the right party.” 

“ Why, yes, Mr. Obray, I’ll be glad to do what- 
ever you want me to,” answered Dave quickly. 
“ It’s quite a trip though, so I’ve heard,” he added 
with a smile. 

“ I know that, Porter. But the trail is a good 
one all the way; and if you follow the signboards 
you can’t go astray. You can take a good horse, 
and you had better take something to eat along, 
too. If you start inside of the next hour, you 
ought to be able to get back before dark. Of 
course, if you have any difficulty in finding the right 
party, you can stay in Orella all night and come 
back to-morrow.” 

“ Oh, I think I can make the trip in one day, 
provided I don’t have to lose too much time in the 
mining camp. I’ll be ready inside of fifteen or 
twenty minutes.” 

“ Then go ahead, and when you’re ready I’ll 
give you the papers and also tell you who they are 
to be delivered to.” 

When Dave rejoined his chum he told Roger 
about the proposed trip. 

“You’re in luck, Dave!” cried the senator’s 
son. “ That will make a dandy outing. I wish 
I was going along.” 

“ I thought at first of asking Mr. Obray to let 
you go,” answered Dave. “ But then I got to 


66 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


thinking about the time we would want off when 
Phil and the others came, and I didn’t want to 
crowd things too much.” 

“ Oh, no, I’m glad you didn’t,” was the hasty 
response. “ I don’t want to have the manager 
thinking we are loafing on the job.” 

Dave ran over to the kitchen and there had 
Jeff, the cook, put him up a substantial lunch. 
Then he dressed himself for the long, hard ride 
through the mountains, and a little later presented 
himself again at the office. 

“ Here are the papers,” said Ralph Obray, 
handing over a large and fat legal-looking en- 
velope. “ I want you to deliver them to Mr. Ray- 
mond Carson or, if Mr. Carson is not there, to 
either his wife or his brother-in-law, Mr. Fred 
Jamison. If you deliver this to the wife or the 
brother-in-law, tell them that the papers are very 
valuable and that they must not be given to any- 
one but Mr. Carson.” 

“ Yes, sir,” replied the young civil engineer. 
And to make sure of the names he put them down 
in the notebook he carried. “ I suppose I had bet- 
ter get a receipt for them,” he added. 

“ Yes, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do that, Por- 
ter, although I know I can take your word for it. 
I have watched you ever since you came to work 
for our company, and that is why I am trusting 
you in the present instance.” 


NEWS FROM HOME 


67 

“ You can rely on me to do my best, Mr. 
Obray,” answered our hero. And then with par- 
donable pride he drew from his pocket the letter 
he had received from his uncle. “ I guess this 
will prove to you how much I am interested in the 
Mentor Construction Company,” and thereupon 
he showed the manager the paragraph pertaining 
to the purchase of stock in the concern by the Por- 
ters and Mr. Wadsworth. 

“ That certainly is evidence ! ” cried Ralph 
Obray heartily. “ I am glad to know your peo- 
ple take such a substantial interest in this com- 
pany. I might as well tell you, my folks have an 
interest in it, too. But now you had better be on 
your way, because it’s a long trip to Orella and I 
won’t feel entirely satisfied until I know those pa- 
pers are in the hands of Mr. Carson or those 
other people.” 

“ I’ll get them there just as soon as I can make 
it,” answered Dave. 

And a few minutes later he was on his way, 
never dreaming of the strange adventure in store 
for him. 


CHAPTER VII 


THE FIGHT ON THE TRAIL 

The road to Orella was in the opposite direc- 
tion to that taken by Dave and Roger on the day 
they had encountered the heavy storm. As Mr. 
Obray had said, the trail was well marked, so that 
the young civil engineer had little trouble in fol- 
lowing it. 

“ But you are going to have some rough riding, 
Dave,” remarked Roger, when he came forward 
to see his chum depart. “ They tell me there is 
one spot on the trail where riding is as dangerous 
as it is on any trail in Montana.” 

“ Well, Sport is a good horse, and I intend to 
be careful,” answered our hero; and then, with a 
wave of his hand, he galloped away and was soon 
out of sight of the construction camp. 

Our hero felt in the best of humor, for the day 
promised to be a fine one and a ride on horseback 
through the mountains was just to his liking. He 
could not help but whistle gayly to himself as he 
sped forward; and thus the first three miles of his 
journey were covered in a comparatively short 
space of time. 


68 


THE FIGHT ON THE TRAIL 69 

Beyond these three miles the trail roughened for 
another mile or two, and here the young civil en- 
gineer had to pick his way among the rocks and 
loose stones with care. In some places where the 
trail was of dirt, the brushwood grew thickly, so 
that it often brushed his legs and the sides of his 
steed as they passed. This, of course, was merely 
the foot trail to Orella, a sort of short cut. The 
main trail for teams wound along farther down in 
the valley and was fully fifteen miles longer. 

As Dave pursued his journey, many thoughts 
came to his mind, both about his work and con- 
cerning those left at home in Crumville. The 
beautiful face of Jessie, with her bewitching eyes, 
was continually before him; and once or twice he 
took from his pocket the last letter he had received 
from her, to read over some of the lines she had 
penned. 

“ She wants me to make good as a civil engineer, 
and I’m going to do it,” he murmured to him- 
self. 

Shortly after leaving the construction camp he 
had passed several miners who were prospecting 
in that vicinity, but now he seemed to be alone on 
the trail, and the only sound that broke the still- 
ness was the occasional cry of a wild bird and the 
hoofbeats of his horse as the sturdy animal moved 
ahead. 

Having mounted to the top of an unusually hard 


70 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

rise, Dave brought Sport to a halt to rest, and also 
to take a look at his surroundings. On one side 
of him were the jagged rocks leading still further 
upward, while on the other was the broad valley, 
clothed in green and with a shimmering river flow- 
ing through its center. Far away he could see 
some animals grazing, and took them to be moun- 
tain goats, although at such a distance it was hard 
to make sure. 

“ A fellow certainly could have some great 
times out here hunting in the proper season,” he 
told himself. “ I’d like to go out myself for a 
few days, especially if I could get some old hunter 
for a guide.” 

Having rested for about five minutes, Dave 
moved forward again, and soon found himself on 
the dangerous part of the trail mentioned by 
Roger. The youth had heard this spoken of be- 
fore, and he reined in his steed and moved for- 
ward with caution. 

“ You be careful, old boy,” he said, patting his 
horse on the neck. “ Neither of us wants to take 
a tumble down yonder rocks. If we did, it might 
be good-bye to both of us.” 

Evidently Sport understood the situation quite 
as well as did the young civil engineer, for he kept 
as close to the inner side of the path as possible, 
and picked every step carefully, and thus they 
moved onward until the very worst of the trail had 


THE FIGHT ON THE TRAIL 


7i 


been left behind. There was, however, still some 
bad places, the trail widening out in some spots 
only to narrow worse than ever in others. 

u Hi there ! Don’t you ride me down ! ” cried 
an unexpected voice, as Dave came around one of 
the narrow bends of the trail. And the next in- 
stant the youth found himself face to face with 
Nick Jasniff. 

The fellow who had been in prison was on foot, 
and carried a bundle strapped over one shoulder. 
He was so close that he had to leap to one side for 
fear of being trampled under foot, and this filled 
him with anger even before he recognized who 
was on horseback. 

“ Nick Jasniff! ” exclaimed Dave, and for the 
instant knew not what more to say. 

“ So it’s you, Porter, is it? ” snarled the former 
bully of Oak Hall. “ What are you doing on this 
trail?” 

“That is none of your business, Jasniff,” 
answered Dave coldly. 

“ See here ! You needn’t put on any lordly airs 
with me ! ” growled the fellow who in the past had 
caused our hero so much trouble. u Thought you 
were playing a fine game on me, didn’t you — hav- 
ing that construction camp manager make a fool 
of me ? ” And now Jasniff came closer and caught 
Dave’s horse by the bridle. 

“ You keep your hands off my horse, Jasniff,” 


72 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

ordered Dave. “ You let go of him this instant ! ” 
“ I’ll let go when I please.” 
u No, you won’t! You’ll let go now! ” And 
so speaking, Dave leaned over in the saddle to 
push the fellow away. 

It was not a very wise thing to do, and Dave 
should have known better. The instant he made 
the movement, Jasniff, who was tall and powerful, 
caught him by the arm, and the next instant had 
hauled him from the saddle. The scuffle which re- 
sulted from this alarmed the horse, and the steed 
trotted away some distance up the trail. 

“ I guess I’ve got you now where I want you, 
Porter! ” cried Jasniff, the squinting eye squinting 
worse than ever as he scowled at our hero. “ I’ve 
got a big account to settle with you.” 

Dave realized that he was in for it and that 
Nick Jasniff would hesitate at nothing to ac- 
complish his purpose. Our hero remembered well 
the dastardly attack made on him by the rascal at 
the Oak Hall gymnasium with an Indian club. 

Jasniff struck out with his left fist, and at the 
same time put his right hand back as if to draw 
some weapon. Dave dodged the blow intended 
for his face, and then struck out swiftly, hitting 
Jasniff in the cheek. Then several blows were ex- 
changed in quick succession, Dave being hit in the 
chest and shoulder and Jasniff receiving several in 
the chest and one on the nose which sent him stag- 


THE FIGHT ON THE TRAIL 


73 

gering several feet. Then the bully rushed for- 
ward and clinched, and both circled around and 
around on the narrow trail, each trying to get the 
advantage of the other. 

“ I’ll fix you ! Just wait and see ! ” panted Jas- 
niff, as he did his best to get a strangle hold on 
our hero. 

Dave did not answer, for he realized that in an 
encounter with such a tall and powerful fellow as 
Jasniff he must make the best use of his breath as 
well as his muscles. 

He slipped from the clutch Jasniff was trying 
to get on him, and caught the fellow by the waist. 
Then Jasniff went down with Dave on top of him, 
and both rolled over and over among the rocks 
and into some bushes which chanced to have sprung 
up in that vicinity. 

“ You le — le — let up ! ” gasped Jasniff pres- 
ently, when he found Dave had him by the throat. 

“ I’ll let up when I’m through with you — - not 
before,” answered Dave pantingly. 

The struggle continued, and Jasniff arose partly 
to a sitting position only to have his head banged 
backward on the rocks. Then, however, he man- 
aged to get one leg doubled up and he sent his foot 
into Dave’s stomach in such a way that our hero 
was for the moment deprived of his breath. 
Both clinched again and rolled over until they 
were close to the edge of the rocks. 


74 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Now I’ve got you! ” cried the bully; and just 
as Dave managed to hit him another blow in the 
nose, one which made the blood spurt, Jasniff tore 
himself free and an instant later pushed Dave 
down over the rocks. 

Even then our hero might have saved himself, 
as he had his left foot planted in what he thought 
a safe place, and he might have caught Jasniff by 
the leg. But the foot gave way most unexpect- 
edly, and in a trice Dave found himself rolling 
over and over down a rocky slope. He clutched 
out wildly, and managed to catch hold of several 
bushes. But these came out by the roots, and then 
he slid downward once more, at last reaching a 
little cliff over which he plunged sideways, to land 
with a crash in some bushes and stunted trees 
some distance below. 

The rolling and the drop over the cliff had all 
but stunned the young civil engineer, and for fully 
five minutes he lay among the bushes hardly realiz- 
ing where he was or what had happened. Then, 
when he finally arose to his feet, he found that his 
left shoulder hurt him not a little, and that his left 
ankle felt equally painful and was quite lame. 

“ That certainly was some tumble,” he groaned 
to himself. “ I suppose I can be thankful I wasn’t 
killed.” 

He had rolled a distance of fifty yards, and the 
top of the little cliff was six or eight feet above his 



Dave found himself rolling over and over down a rocky 

slope. — Page 74. 














































































































THE FIGHT ON THE TRAIL 


75 

head. From where he stood he could not see that 
portion of the trail where the encounter had oc- 
curred, and consequently he knew not what had be- 
come of Nick Jasniff. 

“ I hope he rolled down, too,” murmured Dave 
to himself. But after he had taken a good look 
around he concluded that Jasniff had remained up 
on the trail. 

The only thing to do was to climb up to the trail 
and try to find out what had become of Jasniff and 
the horse. 

“ It would be just like Jasniff to take Sport and 
ride off with him,” thought Dave dismally. 
u What a fool I was not to give him a knock-out 
blow when I had him down on the rocks! If I 
had given him that I could have made him a pris- 
oner before he had a chance to regain his senses. 
Now he’s got the best of it, and there is no telling 
what he’s up to.” 

More anxious to know what had become of his 
horse than over Jasniff’s welfare, Dave moved 
around to one end of the cliff and then began to 
scramble up the rocks. This was by no means 
easy, and more than once he had to stop to catch 
his breath and nurse his hurt shoulder and his 
lame ankle. Up above him he could now see the 
trail, but neither Jasniff nor the horse was in sight. 

At last Dave had the satisfaction of drawing 
himself up over the rocks bordering the edge of 


76 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

the trail, and here, feeling rather weak, he sat 
down to regain his strength. He listened intently, 
but scarcely a sound broke the silence of the moun- 
tains. Evidently Nick Jasniff had taken time by 
the forelock and made good his departure. 

“ If he took that horse, what am I to do? ” 
mused Dave bitterly. “To foot it all the way to 
Orella, and especially with this lame ankle, is al- 
most out of the question.” 

Thinking of Orella put Dave in mind of his mis- 
sion, and he quickly thrust his hand into his pocket 
to see if the envelope Mr. Obray had given him to 
deliver was safe. 

The next instant his heart almost stopped beat- 
ing. The envelope was gone ! 

Frantically he searched one pocket after an- 
other; and then he made another discovery equally 
dismaying. Not only was the envelope the con- 
struction camp manager had given him missing, but 
likewise the letters he had received from Jessie 
and his Uncle Dunston, and also his pocketbook 
which had contained upward of forty dollars. 


CHAPTER VIII 


WHAT WAS MISSING 

“ Gone L ” 

This was the one word which burst from Dave’s 
lips as he searched one pocket after another in 
rapid succession. Then he arose to his feet, to 
hurry up and down the trail in the vicinity where 
the encounter with Jasniff had occurred. But 
though he looked everywhere, not a trace of the 
documents, the letters, or his pocketbook could be 
found. 

An examination showed that his coat was torn 
in several places and that the side of one of the 
pockets had likewise been rent. But whether this 
damage had been caused by the fight or when he 
had rolled down over the rocks, he could not de- 
termine. 

“ I guess I got pretty well mussed up in the 
fight, and the fall down the rocks finished the 
job,” he muttered to himself. 

He was much disheartened, and felt bitter 
against Nick Jasniff. Whether the rascal had 
picked up the articles lost and made off with them 
was, however, a question. 

77 


78 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ If I lost them up here on the trail he probably 
took them,” Dave reasoned. “ But if they fell out 
of my pockets when I rolled down the rocks and 
over the cliff, they must be scattered somewhere 
between here and the place where I landed in the 
bushes.” 

Dave felt much perplexed, not knowing whether 
it would be better to try to find Jasniff or to make 
a search in the vicinity where he had had the fall. 

“ I suppose it would be sheer nonsense to try to 
follow Jasniff on foot if he went off on my horse,” 
the young civil engineer reasoned. “ I might as 
well take a look down below and make sure that I 
didn’t drop those things when I fell.” 

With his hurt shoulder and lame ankle, it was 
almost as much of a task to get down the rocks 
as it had been to climb up. As well as he was 
able, he took the same course he had followed in 
the fall, and he kept his eyes wide open for the 
things he had lost. But five minutes of slipping 
and sliding brought him to the top of the little cliff 
without seeing anything but dirt, rocks, and bushes. 
Then he had to make a wide detour to get to the 
bottom of the cliff. 

“ I suppose it’s a wild-goose chase, and I’ll have 
my work for my pains,” he grumbled. “ Oh, 
rats! Why did I have to fall in with Jasniff on 
this trip? I wish that fellow was at the North 


WHAT WAS MISSING 79 

Pole or down among the Hottentots, or some- 
where where he couldn’t bother me ! ” 

Dave began to search around in the vicinity of 
the spot where he had fallen. He was almost 
ready to give up in despair when his eye caught 
sight of a white-looking object some distance be- 
low. Eagerly he climbed down to the place where 
the object lay, and the next moment set up a cry 
of joy. 

“Hurrah! Here are Mr. Obray’s docu- 
ments ! ” he exclaimed. “ I hope they are all 
right.” 

A hasty inspection convinced him that the legal- 
looking envelope and its contents were intact. 
Having inspected them carefully, he placed the 
packet inside of his shirt. 

“ I won’t take any more chances with it,” he told 
himself. “ Somebody will have to rip my cloth- 
ing off to get that envelope away.” 

With the envelope save in his possession once 
more, Dave felt exceedingly light-hearted. But 
the letter from Jessie, as well as the communica- 
tion from Uncle Dunston, and the pocketbook 
with the forty odd dollars in it, were still missing, 
and he spent some time looking for those things. 

“ It doesn’t matter so much about the letters, 
even though I hate to part with the one from Jes- 
sie,” he reasoned. “ But I’d like to set my eyes 


80 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

on that pocketbook with the forty-two or forty- 
three dollars it held.” 

But our hero’s success had come to an end with 
the finding of the envelope to be delivered at 
Orella; and although he searched around for a 
quarter of an hour longer, nothing of any value 
came to sight. Then, with a deep sigh, he pulled 
himself up once more to the trail, and set off on a 
hunt for his horse. 

“ Jasniff was headed in the opposite direction, 
and maybe he didn’t go after Sport,” Dave argued 
to himself. “ Anyhow, I’ve got to go that way, 
even if I have to journey on foot.” 

Painfully our hero limped along, for the climb- 
ing up and down on the rocks had done the lame 
ankle no good. He had had to loosen his shoe, 
for the ankle had swollen not a little. 

“ If I could only bathe it it wouldn’t be so bad,” 
he thought. 

But there was no water at hand, and the small 
quantity he carried in a flask for drinking purposes 
was too precious to be used on the injured limb. 

He had covered several yards when his lame 
ankle gave him such a twinge that he had to sit 
down to give it a rest. 

“ I don’t know what I’m going to do if I can’t 
find that horse,” he thought bitterly. 

He was sitting and nursing the hurt ankle and 
looking over the landscape in the valley below him, 


WHAT WAS MISSING 81 

when something on one of the bushes less than 
fifty feet away caught his eye. 

“ I wonder what that can be,” he mused. “ It 
doesn’t look like a bird’s nest. It looks more like 

an old shoe. I wonder Can it be my pocket- 

book?” 

The last thought was so electrifying that Dave 
leaped to his feet, and, regardless of the painful 
ankle, walked over to the edge of the trail. Here 
he could see the object quite plainly, and he lost 
no time in crawling down to the bushes and ob- 
taining it. 

It was indeed his pocketbook, but wide open and 
empty. Even the few cards and slips of paper it 
had contained were missing. 

“ This proves one thing,” he reasoned bitterly. 
“ Jasniff picked that pocketbook up where we had 
the fight, and he came this way while he was emp- 
tying it, then he threw it away.” 

Dave was also sure of another thing. The 
pocketbook and the two letters had been in the 
same pocket, and he felt certain that Nick Jasniff 
had also confiscated the two communications. 

“ Now the question is, if he came this way, did 
he get Sport?” Dave mused. “ If he did, then 
it’s good-bye to the letters, the money and the 
horse.” 

Placing the empty wallet in his pocket, Dave sat 
down and rested his lame ankle. He counted the 


82 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

loose change in his trousers’ pocket and found he 
had eighty-five cents. Then he limped on once 
more around another bend in the trail. 

Here a sight filled him with satisfaction. At 
this point the rocks came to an end and there was 
a fairly good bit of pasture-land, and here stood 
Sport, feeding away as if nothing out of the or- 
dinary had happened. 

“ Good old Sport ! ” cried Dave, going up to the 
animal and patting him affectionately. “ I’m 
mighty glad you didn’t run any farther, and doubly 
glad Nick Jasniff didn’t get you. Now, old boy, 
we’ll be on our way and try to make up for lost 
time;” and in a moment more our hero was in the 
saddle and galloping off in the direction of Orella. 

Dave surmised that Nick Jasniff had come in 
that direction looking for the horse, but without 
finding Sport. At the same time, the rascal had 
rifled the pocketbook and then thrown it in the 
bushes. Then, thinking the horse had gone a 
much greater distance, Jasniff had retraced his 
steps and continued on his way in the direction of 
the construction camp. 

“ But he can’t be bound for the camp, for Mr. 
Obray warned him to keep away,” thought our 
hero. “ It must be that he is headed either for 
some of the mining camps or ranches, or the rail- 
road station.” 

Our hero felt that it would be next to useless 


WHAT WAS MISSING 83 

for him to go to the Double Eight Ranch, where 
Nick Jasniff was employed, and accuse him of the 
theft. The fellow would probably deny every- 
thing — even the meeting on the road. And as 
there had been no witnesses to the transaction, 
there the case would have to rest. 

“ Just the same, when I get the chance, I’ll let 
the manager of the Double Eight Ranch know 
what sort of fellow Jasniff is,” Dave said to him- 
self. “ Maybe that crowd over there won’t want 
a prison bird around any more than we wanted 
him at the construction camp.” 

Our hero had been right in regard to finding the 
pocketbook and letters. After Dave had disap- 
peared over the edge of the cliff below the trail, 
Nick Jasniff had looked around to find his hat, 
which had fallen off in the struggle. As he picked 
this up he had noticed the pocketbook and the two 
letters. 

“ Maybe there’s something in that pocketbook 
worth keeping,” he had muttered to himself, as he 
tried to stop the flow of blood from his bruised 
nose. “ And I guess I’m entitled to anything I 
can get from Dave Porter. I hope he broke every 
bone in his body by that fall.” 

He waited for a minute to see if Dave would 
reappear, and then hurried along the trail, think- 
ing he could find and mount our hero’s horse. 
He quickly transferred the forty-three dollars he 


84 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

found in the wallet to his own pocket, and then 
threw the pocketbook away in the spot where 
Dave picked it up. 

“ I guess it’s no use to look any farther,” Jas- 
niff had muttered to himself on failing to locate 
the horse. “ Gee ! I’m glad I struck this forty- 
three dollars ! That amount with the thirty I had 
before will see me a long distance on my way.” 

And thereupon he had hurried back past the 
spot where the encounter had taken place, and 
then along the trail to where there was a fork — 
one branch leading down to the construction camp, 
and the other oh in the direction of some mines 
and the nearest railroad station. 

Although our hero did not know it, Jasniff had 
had another quarrel earlier in the day. A miner 
operating near the Double Eight Ranch had the 
night before fallen in with several of the men em- 
ployed by the Mentor Construction Company, and 
from them had learned the particulars concerning 
the fellow who had gotten out of prison. 

This news had been carried to James Dackley, 
the manager of the Double Eight, and Dackley, 
who was naturally a hot-headed man, had become 
furious over the thought of being so deceived by 
Jasniff. 

“ I only took him on because I thought he was 
a tenderfoot and was hard up for a job,” Dackley 
had growled. “ He told such a straight story that 


WHAT WAS MISSING 85 

I swallowed it, hook, line, and sinker. I don’t 
want such a fellow around here any more than 
they want him over to the railroad camp. Just 
have Nolan send him to me, and I’ll soon send him 
about his business.” 

Thereupon Nick Jasniff had been summoned 
from the bunk-house to the main building on the 
Double Eight Ranch and been closely questioned 
by James Dackley. He had denied everything, 
but the ranch manager had refused almost to listen 
to him. 

“ I’m going to investigate this,” said Dackley, 
“ and if the story is true, the sooner you get out 
the better I’ll be pleased.” 

Nick Jasniff had well understood that the truth 
would come out in the near future; and knowing 
how passionate James Dackley could become on 
occasion, he had lost no time in packing his few 
belongings and asking for his pay. This had been 
given to him, and he had thereupon set out on his 
journey toward the railroad station on foot — 
Dackley refusing to give him the loan of a horse. 

Nick Jasniff had come to the conclusion that it 
would be best for him to quit the neighborhood. 
He had thirty dollars in his pocket, and this added 
to the forty-three taken from Dave’s pocketbook 
made quite a sum. 

“ There’s no use of my staying here in the 
West,” he reasoned. “ There are far more 


86 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

chances in the East for a fellow like me. Maybe 
I’ll find some of the fellows I used to know out 
there, and we can pull off some stunts worth 
while.” 

With several miles placed between him and the 
place where he had had the encounter with Dave, 
Nick Jasniff sat down to rest and at the same time 
look over the letters he had picked up. There 
was a cynical sneer on his face as he read the com- 
munication from Jessie to Dave. 

“ It’s enough to make a fellow sick to think such 
a rich girl as that should take to a fellow like Dave 
Porter,” he murmured to himself. “ Wouldn’t I 
like to put a spoke in that fellow’s wheel! I 
wonder if I couldn’t do something to come between 
Porter and the Wadsworths? I owe old man 
Wadsworth something for sending me to prison.” 

Then Nick Jasniff turned to the letter written by 
Dunston Porter. The beginning of this did not 
interest him greatly, but he read with interest what 
Dave’s uncle had written concerning the gypsies 
who had camped out on the outskirts of Crum- 
ville. 

“ Got into a row with a couple of gypsies, eh? ” 
he mused. “ I reckon that’s something worth re- 
membering. Maybe those fellows wouldn’t mind 
joining me in some kind of a game against the 
Wadsworths. Maybe we could put one over and 


WHAT WAS MISSING 87 

make a lot of money out of it. Anyway, it’s some- 
thing worth thinking about;” and thereupon Nick 
Jasniff grew very thoughtful as he proceeded on 
his way to the railroad station. 


CHAPTER IX 


DAVE AT ORELLA 

It was two o’clock in the afternoon when Dave 
rode into Orella. This was a typical mining town 
of Montana, containing but a single street with 
stores, the majority of which were but one story 
in height. Back of this street were probably half 
a hundred cabins standing at all sorts of angles 
toward the landscape; and beyond these were the 
mines. 

Just previous to entering the town Dave had 
stopped at a wayside spring and there washed up. 
Before that he had brushed himself off as well as 
he was able, so that when he entered the place the 
only evidences he carried of the encounter with 
Nick Jasniff were some scratches on the back of his 
hand and a small swelling on his left cheek. 

The first person he met directed him to the of- 
fices of the Orella Mining Company, of which Mr. 
Raymond Carson was the general manager. 

“Is Mr. Carson in?” he questioned of the 
clerk who came forward to interview him. 

“ He is,” was the answer. “ Who shall I say 
wants to see him? ” 


88 


DAVE AT ORELLA 


89 

“ My name is Porter, and I was sent here to see 
him by Mr. Obray of the Mentor Construction 
Company.” 

“ Oh, then I guess you can go right in,” re- 
turned the clerk, and showed the way to a private 
office in the rear of the building. 

Here Mr. Raymond Carson sat at his desk writ- 
ing out some telegrams. Dave quickly introduced 
himself and brought forth the legal-looking en- 
velope which had been intrusted to him. The 
manager of the mining company tore it open and 
looked over the contents with care. 

“Very good — just what I was waiting for,” 
he announced. “ You can tell Mr. Obray I am 
much obliged for his promptness.” 

“ Would you mind giving me a receipt for the 
papers? ” questioned the young civil engineer. 

“ Not at all.” The mining company manager 
called in one of the clerks. “ Here, take down a 
receipt,” and he dictated what he wished to say. 

Dave at first thought he might tell of how close 
he had come to losing the documents, but then 
considered that it might not be wise to mention 
the occurrence. The receipt was written out and 
signed and passed over. 

“ How are matters coming along over at your 
camp?” questioned Mr. Raymond Carson with 
a smile. 

“ Oh, we are doing very well, everything con- 


90 


DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


sidered,” was Dave’s reply. “We are having a 
little trouble on account of some of the rocks 
in Section Six. They are afraid of a landslide. 
We’ve got to build two bridges there, and our en- 
gineers are going to have their own troubles get- 
ting the proper foundations.” 

“ Yes, that’s a great section for landslides. I 
was out there mining once, and we had some of 
the worst cave-ins I ever heard about.” 

“ There is practically no mining around there 
now,” ventured Dave. 

“ No. The returns were not sufficient to war- 
rant operations. Some time, however, I think 
somebody will open up a vein there that will be 
worth while.” 

A few words more passed concerning the work 
of the construction company, and then Dave pre- 
pared to leave. Just as he was about to step out 
of the office, however, he turned. 

“ By the way, Mr. Carson, may I ask if there 
was a young fellow about my own age here dur- 
ing the past week or two looking for a job — a 
fellow who said his name was Jasper Nicholas? ” 

“ A young fellow about your age named Nicho- 
las?” mused the mine manager. “Let me see. 
Did he have a cast in one eye? ” 

“ The fellow I mean squints a good deal with 
one of his eyes. He is rather tall and lanky.” 


DAVE AT ORELLA 


9i 


“ Yes, he was here. He wanted a job in the 
mines. Said he didn’t think he was cut out for 
office work. But somehow or other I didn’t like 
his looks. Is he a friend of yours? ” 

“ He is not!” declared Dave quickly. “In 
fact, he is just the opposite. And what is more, 
he is a thief and has served a term in prison.” 

“ You don’t say ! ” exclaimed the mine manager. 
“ Are you sure of this? ” 

“ Positive, sir. His real name is Nicholas Jas- 
niff. Some years ago he and another fellow stole 
some valuable jewels from a jewelry works. I 
aided in capturing him and sending him to prison.” 

“ Humph ! If that’s the case I am glad I didn’t 
hire him. As I said before, I didn’t like his looks 
at all, and out here we go about as much on looks 
as we do on anything.” 

“ He came to our camp, but Mr. Obray soon 
sent him about his business,” said Dave. 

After talking the matter over for a few min- 
utes longer, but without mentioning the attack on 
the trail, Dave rode away. At the end of the 
street he stopped at a general store, which con- 
tained a drug department, and while giving his 
horse a chance to feed, there obtained some lini- 
ment with which he rubbed his lame shoulder and 
his hurt ankle. Then, having obtained a bottle 
of lemon-soda with which to quench his thirst, 


92 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

and help along his supper when he should stop 
to eat it, our hero set off on the return to the con- 
struction camp. 

By the time Dave reached the spot where the 
encounter with Jasniff had occurred, it was grow- 
ing somewhat dark on the trail. Over to the 
westward the mountains were much taller than 
those where the trail ran, and the deep shadows 
were creeping upward from the valley below. 
Soon the orb of day sank out of sight, and then the 
darkness increased. 

So far on the return Dave had met but two men 
— old prospectors who had paid scant attention 
to him as he passed. He had stopped at a con- 
venient point to eat what remained of the lunch 
he had brought along, washing it down with the 
lemon-soda. Presently he came to a fork in the 
trail, and by a signboard placed there knew that 
he was now less than four miles from the construc- 
tion camp. 

The hard ride had tired the young civil en- 
gineer greatly, and he was glad enough to let 
Sport move forward on a walk. The horse, 
too, had found the journey a hard one, and was 
well content to progress at a reduced rate of speed. 

The narrow portion of the footway having been 
left behind, horse and rider came out into some- 
thing of a hollow on the mountainside. Here and 
there were a number of loose rocks and also quite 


DAVE AT ORELLA 


93 


a growth of scrub timber. Dave was just pass- 
ing through the densest of the timber when an 
overhanging branch caught his hat and sent it to 
the ground. 

“Whoa there, Sport! ” he cried, and bringing 
his horse to a halt, he leaped down to recover the 
hat. 

Dave had just picked up the head covering when 
he heard a low sound -coming from some bushes 
close at hand. It was not unlike the cry of a cat, 
and the youth was instantly on the alert. He re- 
membered only too well how, when he had been 
at Star Ranch, a wildcat, commonly called in that 
section a bobcat, had gotten among the horses be- 
longing to himself and his chums and caused no 
end of trouble. 

The cry was followed by several seconds of in- 
tense silence, and then came the unmistakable 
snarl of a bobcat, followed instantly by a leap on 
the part of Sport. 

“ Whoa there ! ” cried Dave, and was just in 
time to catch the horse by the bridle. Then Sport 
veered around and kicked out viciously at the 
brushwood. 

The bobcat was there, and evidently had no 
chance to retreat farther, the bushes being backed 
up by a number of high rocks. With a snarl, it 
leaped out into the open directly beside the horse 
and Dave. Then, as the horse switched around 


94 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

again and let fly with his hind hoofs, the bobcat 
made a flying leap past Dave, landing in the 
branches of a nearby tree. 

“ Whoa there, Sport ! ” cried the youth, and 
now lost no time in leaping into the saddle. In 
the meanwhile the bobcat sprang from one limb of 
the tree to another and disappeared behind some 
dense foliage. 

Had our hero had a rifle or a shotgun, he might 
have gone on a hunt for the beast. But he car- 
ried only his small automatic, and he did not con- 
sider this a particularly good weapon with which 
to stir up the bobcat. He went on his way, and 
now Sport set off on a gallop, evidently glad to 
leave such a dangerous vicinity behind. Although 
horses are much larger, bobcats are such vicious 
animals that no horses care to confront them. 

“ I sure am having my fill of adventures to- 
day, mused Dave grimly. “ First Nick Jasniff, 
and now that bobcat ! I’ll have to tell the others 
about the cat, and maybe we can organize a hunt 
and lay the beast low. The men won’t want to 
face a bobcat while at work any more than they 
would care to face that rattlesnake I shot.” 

It was not long after this when the lights of 
the construction camp came into view, and soon 
Dave was riding down among the buildings. 
Roger was on the watch, and came forward to 
greet him. 


DAVE AT ORELLA 


95 

“ Had a safe trip, I see ! ” called out the sena- 
tor’s son. “ Good enough! ” 

“ I had a safe trip in one way if not in another,” 
announced Dave. “ Two things didn’t suit me at 
all. I met Nick Jasniff, and then I also met a bob- 
cat.” 

“You don’t say!” ejaculated Roger. “Tell 
me about it.” 

“ I want to report to Mr. Obray first, Roger. 
If you want to go along you can.” 

Dave found the construction camp manager at 
the doorway of the cabin he occupied, reading a 
newspaper which was several days old. He, as 
well as Roger, listened with keen interest to what 
our hero had to relate. 

“ And so that rascal took your forty-odd dol- 
lars, did he ? ” exclaimed Ralph Obray, when 
Dave was telling the story. “ He certainly is a 
bad egg.” . 

“ I’m mighty glad he didn’t get away with your 
papers, Mr. Obray,” answered our hero soberly. 
“ Of course, I don’t know how valuable they were, 
but I presume they were worth a good deal more 
than the contents of my pocketbook.” 

“ You are right there, Porter. The documents 
would be hard to duplicate. And I’m mighty glad 
they are safe in Mr. Carson’s hands and that we 
have the receipt for them. Now, in regard to 
your losing your money: If we can’t get it back 


96 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

from this fellow Jasniff, I’ll see what the company 
can do toward reimbursing you.” 

“ Oh, I sha’n’t expect that, Mr. Obray ! ” cried 
the youth. “ It was no concern of yours that I 
was robbed.” 

“ I don’t know about that. If you hadn’t taken 
that trip for us, this Jasniff might not have gotten 
the chance to take your money. In one way, I 
think it is up to the company to make the loss 
good; and I’ll put it up to the home office in my 
next report.” 

“ You certainly ought to let the people at 
Double Eight Ranch know what sort Jasniff isl ” 
cried Roger. 

“ Of course, I can’t prove that he took the 
money,” returned Dave. “ There were no wit- 
nesses to what occurred, and I suppose he would 
claim that his word was as good as mine.” 

“ But we know it isn’t! ” burst out the senator’s 
son indignantly. “ He’s a rascal, and I intend 
that everybody around here shall know it ! ” 

“ You certainly had your share of happenings,” 
was Mr. Obray’s comment. “ It was bad enough 
to have the fight with Jasniff without running afoul 
of that wildcat. You ought to have brought him 
down with your pistol, as you did that rattle- 
snake,” and he smiled broadly. 

“ I didn’t get a chance for a shot,” explained 
Dave. “ I had to grab the horse for fear he 


DAVE AT ORELLA 


97 


would run away and leave me to walk to the camp. 
And besides, the wildcat moved about as quickly 
as I can tell about it.” 

“ Maybe we can form a party and round the 
wildcat up,” put in Roger eagerly. 

“ I was thinking of that, Roger.” 

Of course Dave had to tell Frank Andrews 
about the encounter with Jasniff and also about 
meeting the wildcat. Several others were pres- 
ent when the story was retold, and soon nearly 
everybody in the camp was aware of what had 
taken place. 

“ I certainly hope you get your money back,” 
remarked Larry Bond. “Gracious! I wouldn’t 
like to lose forty-odd dollars out of my pay! I 
couldn’t afford it.” 

“ We’ll have to round up that bobcat some 
day,” said old John Hixon. “ If we manage to 
kill him off, it will discourage others from coming 
to this neighborhood.” 

“ Well, any time you say so, I’ll go out with 
you to try to lay the bobcat low,” answered Dave. 


CHAPTER X 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 

Two days later Dave was hard at work with 
the others on the mountainside when a gang of 
six cowboys rode up. They were curious to know 
some particulars concerning the new railroad spur 
which was to be put through in that vicinity, and 
stopped to watch proceedings and to ask a num- 
ber of questions. 

“What ranch do you hail from, boys?” ques- 
tioned Frank Andrews of the leader of the crowd, 
a tall, leathery-looking man of about forty. 

“ We’re from the Double Eight outfit,” was the 
answer, as the fellow pulled a sheet from a book 
of papers he carried, filled it with some loose 
tobacco from a pouch, and proceeded to roll him- 
self a cigarette. 

“The Double Eight, eh?” exclaimed the civil 
engineer. “ That is interesting. I think one of 
my young men here would like to ask you a few 
questions, if you wouldn’t mind.” 

“ All right, pard, shoot away,” answered the 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 99 

cowboy calmly, as he began to puff at his ciga- 
rette. 

Frank Andrews lost no time in summoning 
Dave, who was some distance up the trail, and 
told our hero where the cowboy hailed from. 

“ I believe you have a fellow staying with you 
who calls himself Jasper Nicholas,” began Dave. 

“ We did have a feller with that handle down 
to our outfit,” responded the cowboy. “ But he 
got fired some days ago.” 

“ Fired ! ” cried Dave and Roger simultane- 
ously. 

“ That’s the size on it, son. He got kind o’ 
fresh with the boss, and Jim wouldn’t stand for it 
nohow. I don’t know exactly wot the rumpus was 
about, but that feller didn’t lose no time va- 
moosin’.” 

“ I wish you would tell me some of the particu- 
lars about him,” went on Dave. “ Then I’ll tell 
you something that may interest you.” 

“ I ain’t got much to tell, ’cause I didn’t like 
the feller, and consequently didn’t have much to 
do with him. Fact is, he wasn’t in cahoots with 
nobody around the ranch. He had a hang-dog 
way about him none of us cottoned to.” 

“ But I wish you would tell me what you do 
know,” insisted our hero. 

Thereupon the cowboy, who said his name was 
Pete Sine, told how Nick Jasniff had come to the 


ioo DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


Double Eight Ranch some weeks before with a 
hard-luck story and had been given a job as an all- 
around handy man. 

“ But he wasn’t handy at all,” announced Pete 
Sine. “ Fact is, he was the most unhandy crit- 
ter I ’most ever met up with. But he told such a 
pitiful story, the boss and some of the fellers felt 
sorry for him, so they all done the best they 
knowed how for him — that is at the start. But 
he soon showed the yellow streak that was in him, 
and then, as I said before, the boss got wise to him 
and fired him. Now what do you know about 
him? ” 

Dave, aided by Roger, gave many of the par- 
ticulars concerning Nick Jasniff’s past doings, and 
our hero related the details of the fight on the 
road, and how he had lost the contents of his 
pocketbook. 

“ Snortin’ buffaloes! ” ejaculated Pete Sine, giv- 
ing his thigh a resounding slap with his hand. 
“ I knew it ! I sized that feller up from the very 
start I warned Jim Dackley about him, but Jim 
was too tender-hearted to see it — that is at first. 
Now when did this happen? ” went on the cow- 
boy. And after Dave had mentioned the day, he 
continued: “That was the very day the boss 
fired him ! ” 

“ And have you any idea where he went to? ” 
questioned our hero quickly. 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL ioi 


“ Not exactly, son. But Fred Gurney, one of 
our gang who ain’t here just now, got it from the 
agent over to the railroad depot that the feller 
took the seven-thirty train that night for Chicago.” 

“ He must have left Montana for good ! ” cried 
Roger. “ Dave, I’m afraid you can whistle your 
forty-odd dollars good-bye.” 

“ So it would seem, Roger. It’s too bad! But 
I’m mighty glad Nick Jasniff has cleared out. I’d 
hate to think he was around here. He would be 
sure to try to do us some harm.” 

“ You might send on to Chicago and have him 
arrested on his arrival there,” suggested Frank 
Andrews. “ That is, if he hasn’t gotten there al- 
ready.” 

“ I don’t think it would be worth bothering 
about,” answered Dave. “ It would make a lot 
of trouble all around; and maybe I would have 
to go on to Chicago to identify him, and then stay 
around and push the charge against him. I’d 
rather let him go and pocket my loss.” 

“ Maybe you’ll meet up with him some day,” 

suggested Pete Sine. “ And if you do Well, 

I know what I’d do to him,” and he tapped his 
pistol suggestively. 

The other cowboys had listened with interest 
to the talk, and every one of them intimated that 
he had distrusted Nick Jasniff from the start. 
Evidently the fellow who had been in prison had 


102 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

not created a favorable impression, even though 
his hard-luck story had brought him some sym- 
pathy. 

After this occurrence matters moved along 
quietly for a few days. On Sunday, there being 
no work to do, old John Hixon and several of 
the other men went out to look for the bobcat 
Dave had met on the trail. But though they 
spent several hours in beating around through the 
brushwood and the scrub timber, they failed to 
find the animal. 

“ Guess he got strayed away from his regular 
haunts, and then went back,” was Hixon’s com- 
ment. “ Wild animals do that once in a while. 
I remember years ago an old hunter told me about 
a she bear he had met here in Montana. Some 
time later another hunter, a friend of his’n, told 
about meetin’ the same bear over in Wyoming. 
Then, less than a month later, this old hunter I 
first mentioned met the same bear and killed her. 
He always wondered how it was that bear got so 
far away from home and then got back again.” 

On Monday morning came more letters from 
home, and also communications from Phil Law- 
rence, Ben Basswood and Shadow Hamilton. 
The letters from Crumville were, as usual, two 
communications from Laura and Jessie; and in 
each of these the girls mentioned the fact that 
Dave’s Uncle Dunston, as well as Mr. Wadsworth 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 103 

and Mr. Basswood, had had more trouble with the 
gypsies who had formerly occupied the vacant land 
on the outskirts of the town. 

“ Uncle Dunston says the gypsies were very for- 
ward,” wrote Laura. “ They said all kinds of 
mean things and made several threats. One of 
the old women, who is called Mother Domoza, 
came here to the house and frightened Jessie and 
me very much. The folks were away at the 
time, and I don’t know what we would have done 
had it not been for dear old Mr. Potts. He 
was in the library, where, as you know, he spends 
most of his time, and when he heard the old 
gypsy denouncing us he came out with his cane in 
his hand and actually drove her away.” 

“ Good for Professor Potts ! ” cried Dave, when 
Roger read this portion of the letter to him. 
“ I’m glad he sent the old hag about her busi- 
ness.” 

The letter from Jessie also contained some 
references to the gypsies, but had evidently been 
mailed previous to the trouble with Mother Do- 
moza. Jessie said she was glad that the vacant 
ground was to be cut up into town lots and built 
upon, and she sincerely trusted that none of the 
gypsies would ever come to camp near Crumville 
again. 

“ Some of them used to come around and tell 
fortunes,” wrote Jessie. u But I don’t need to 
have my fortune told, Dave. I know exactly what 


io 4 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

it is going to be, and I would not have it changed 
for the world! ” 

And this part of the letter Dave did not show 
to Roger; but he read it over many times with 
great satisfaction. 

But all thoughts of the gypsies and of what they 
might do were forgotten by our hero and Roger 
when they came to peruse the letters sent by Phil, 
Ben and Shadow. 

“ Hurrah! They are on their way at last! ” 
cried Dave, his face beaming with satisfaction. 
“ Ben writes that they were to start within forty- 
eight hours after this letter was sent.” 

“ And that is just what Shadow and Phil say, 
too,” announced the senator’s son. “ That being 
so, they ought to arrive here within the next two 
days.” 

“ Right you are, Roger! Oh, say! when they 
come, won’t we have the best time ever?” ex- 
claimed Dave. 

And then, in the exuberance of their spirits, both 
youths caught hold of each other and did an im- 
promptu war-dance. 

“ Hello ! hello ! What’s going on here ? ” cried 
Frank Andrews, coming up at that moment. 
“ Have you fellows joined the Hopi Indians? ” 

“ Our three chums are on the way — we expect 
them here inside of the next two days ! ” announced 
Dave. 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 105 

“ Is that so? I don’t wonder you’re so happy. 
As I understand it, you fellows were all very close 
chums.” 

“ The closest ever ! ” answered Roger. And 
then suddenly his face clouded a little. “ But 
oh, Mr. Andrews, what are we going to do with 
them when they get here? We’ll have to make 
some sort of arrangements for them.” 

“ I reckon we can make room one way or an- 
other,” answered the older civil engineer. “ You 
know Barry and Lundstrom have left and that 
gives us two vacant bunks, and we can easily fix 
up an extra cot here if we want to.” 

“ Then that’s what we’ll do, if you won’t 
mind,” announced Dave. 

He and Roger had already spoken about the 
matter to Ralph Obray, and the general manager 
had given them permission to entertain their 
chums at the camp for several days if the visitors 
wished to stay that long. It was, of course, un- 
derstood that their meals should be paid for, 
since a report of all expenditures had to be made 
to the head office. 

“ I think you fellows have earned a little va- 
cation,” said the manager to the chums. “ You 
have both worked very hard. And I have not 
forgotten, Porter, how you carried those docu- 
ments to Orella for me and what a fight you had to 
get them there in safety.” 


io6 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ But understand, Mr. Obray, we don’t expect 
to be paid for the time we take off,” interposed 
Roger. “ At least I don’t expect to be paid for 
it.” 

“ And that is just the way I feel about it,” 
added Dave. 

“ You young fellows leave that to me,” an- 
swered the construction company manager smil- 
ingly. u I’ll take care of that. I can remember 
when I was a young fellow and had my friends 
come to see me. You go on and show your chums 
all the sights, and have the best time possible, and 
then, when they are gone, I’ll expect you to work 
so much the harder to make up for it. I think you 
see what I mean.” 

“And we’ll do it — take my word on it!” 
answered Dave heartily. 

“ Indeed we will! ” echoed Roger. 

During the next two days the chums were so 
anxious awaiting the coming of the others that 
they could hardly attend to their work. They 
saw to it that quarters were made in readiness 
for the three who were expected and that Jeff, 
the cook, would have room for them at one of 
the dining-tables. 

Then, on the morning of the third day, when a 
telegram came in from the railroad station stating 
that Phil and the others would arrive by noon, 
Dave and Roger, taking a lunch along, set off on 


WHAT THE GIRLS HAD TO TELL 107 

horseback, leading three other horses behind them, 
to meet the expected visitors. 

The ride to the railroad station occurred with- 
out mishap, though it was no easy matter to make 
the three riderless horses follow them at certain 
points where the trail was rough. But the two 
chums reached the station with almost an hour to 
spare. 

“ And it wasn’t no use for you fellers to hurry,” 
announced the station master, when he found out 
what had brought them. “ That train is gener- 
ally from one hour to three hours late.” 

“ Great Scott! have we got to wait around here 
three hours?” groaned the senator’s son. 

“ We might have known the train would be 
late,” observed Dave. “ They usually are on this 
line.” 

Presently the station master went in to receive a 
telegram. When he came out he announced that 
the train would be there in less than two hours un- 
less something occurred in the meanwhile to cause 
a further delay. 

The chums put in the time as best they could; 
but it was slow work, and they consulted their 
watches every few minutes. At last, however, the 
time came to a close, and soon they heard a long, 
low whistle. 

“ Here she comes ! ” cried Dave, his heart giv- 
ing a leap. 


io8 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ Let’s give them a cheer as soon as we see 
them,” suggested the senator’s son. 

And then the long train rolled into sight around 
a bend of the mountains and soon came to a stand- 
still at the little station. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 

“ There they are ! ” 

“ This way, boys ! Oak Hall to the front! ” 

A vestibule door to one of the cars had been 
opened and a porter had come down the steps car- 
rying three suit-cases. He was followed by three 
young men, who waved their hands gayly at Dave 
and Roger. 

“ Here at last ! ” sang out Phil Lawrence, as 
he rushed forward to catch our hero with one hand 
and the senator’s son with the other. 

“ Some city you fellows have here,” criticized 
Ben Basswood, with a broad grin, as he waited 
for his turn to “ pump handle ” his friends. 

“ Say! ” burst out the third new arrival, as he 
too came forward. “ Calling a little, dinky sta- 
tion like this a city puts me in mind of a story. 
Once some travelers journeyed to the interior of 
Africa, and ” 

“Hello! What do you know about that?” 
sang out Dave gayly. a Shadow has started to 
tell a story before he even says * how-do-you- 
do ’! ” 


109 


no DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ Why, Shadow ! ” remonstrated Roger in an 
apparently injured tone of voice. “ We heard 
that you had given up telling stories entirely.” 

“ Smoked herring! Who told you such a yam 
as that? ” burst out Phil. 

“ I don’t intend to give up telling stories,” an- 
nounced Shadow Hamilton calmly. “ I’ve got a 
brand new lot; haven’t I, fellows? I bet Dave 
and Roger never heard that one about the coal.” 

“What about the coal, Shadow?” demanded 
Roger, shaking hands. 

“ Don’t ask him,” groaned Ben. “ He’s told 
that story twenty-six times since we left home.” 

“ You’re a base prevaricator, Ben Basswood! ” 
roared the former story-teller of Oak Hall. “ I 
told that story just twice — once to you and once 
to that drummer from Chicago. And he said he 
had never heard it before, and that proves it’s a 
new story, because drummers hear everything.” 

“ Well, that story has one advantage,” was 
Phil’s comment. “ It’s short.” 

“All right then, Shadow; let’s hear it. And 
then tell us all about yourself,” said Dave quickly. 

“ It isn’t quite as much of a story as it’s a conun- 
drum,” began Shadow Hamilton. “ Once a small 
boy who was very inquisitive went to his aunt in 
the country and helped her hunt for eggs. Then 
he said he would like to go down into the cellar. 
‘ Why do you want to go in the cellar, Freddy? * 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 


hi 


asked the aunt. ‘ I want to go down to look at 
the egg coal,’ announced the little boy. ‘ And 
then I want to see what kind of chickens lay it.’ ” 
And at this little joke both Dave and Roger had 
to smile. 

No other passengers had left the cars at this 
station, and now the long train rumbled once more 
on its way. The station master had gone off to 
look after some messages, so the former chums 
of Oak Hall were left entirely to themselves. 

“ It’s a touch of old times to get together again, 
isn’t it? ” cried Dave gayly, as he placed one arm 
over Phil’s shoulder and the other arm around 
Ben. “ You can’t imagine how glad I am to see 
all of you.” 

“ I am sure the feeling is mutual, Dave,” an- 
swered Phil. “ I’ve missed you fellows dread- 
fully since we separated.” 

“ I sometimes wish we were all back at Oak 
Hall again,” sighed Ben. “ My, what good times 
we did have ! ” 

“ I guess you’ll be glad enough to reach Star 
Ranch, Phil,” went on Dave, giving the ship- 
owner’s son a nudge in the ribs. “ Probably Belle 
Endicott will be waiting for you with open 
arms.” 

“ Sour grapes, Dave. I know where you’d like 
to be,” retorted Phil, his face reddening. “ You’d 
like to be in Crumville with Jessie Wadsworth — 


1 12 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


and Roger would like to be in the same place, with 
your sister.” 

“Have you fellows had your lunch?” ques- 
tioned Roger, to change the subject. 

“ Yes. When we found out that the train was 
going to be late, we went into the dining-car as 
soon as it opened,” answered Ben. “ How about 
you? ” 

“ We brought something along and ate it while 
we were waiting for you,” said the senator’s son. 
“ Come on, it’s quite a trip to the construction 
camp. We came over on horseback, and we 
brought three horses for you fellows.” 

“ Good enough! ” cried Shadow. “ But what 
are we going to do with our suit-cases? ” 

“ You’ll have to tie those on somehow,” an- 
nounced Dave. “ We brought plenty of straps 
along.” 

As the five chums got ready for the trip to the 
construction camp, Dave and Roger were told of 
many things that had happened to the others dur- 
ing the past few weeks. In return they told about 
themselves and the encounter with Nick Jasniff.” 

“ A mighty bad egg, that Jasniff,” was Phil’s 
comment. 

“ The worst ever,” added Shadow. 

“ Mr. Dunston Porter and the girls didn’t tell 
you half of the story about those gypsies,” said 
Ben. “ Those fellows tried to make all sorts of 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 


ii3 

trouble for us. They tried to prove that they 
had a right to camp on that land, and my father 
and your uncle had to threaten them with the law 
before they went away. Since that time several 
of the gypsies have been in town, and they have 
made a number of threats to get square. That 
old hag, Mother Domoza, is particularly wrath- 
ful. She insists that she got the right to camp 
there as long as she pleased from some party who 
used to own a part of the land.” 

“Where are the gypsies hanging out now?” 
questioned Dave. 

“ Somebody told me they were camping on the 
edge of Coburntown.” 

“You don’t say! That’s the place where I 
had so much trouble with the storekeepers on ac- 
count of Ward Porton’s buying so many things 
in my name.” 

“ If I were living in Coburntown, I’d keep my 
eyes open for those gypsies,” declared Ben. “ I 
wouldn’t trust any of them any farther than I 
could see them. Ever since they camped on the 
outskirts of Crumville folks have suspected them 
of raiding hencoops and of other petty thieving. 
They never caught them at it, so they couldn’t 
prove it. But my father was sure in his own mind 
that they were guilty.” 

“ Yes, and I remember a year or so ago some of 
the gypsy women came around our place to tell 


1 1 4 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

fortunes,” added Dave. “ They went into the 
kitchen to tell the fortunes of the cook and the 
up-stairs girl, and two days later the folks found 
that two silver spoons and a gold butter-knife were 
missing. We made some inquiries, but we never 
got any satisfaction.” 

“ Looking for stuff like that is like looking for 
a needle in a haystack,” was Phil’s comment. 

“ Oh, say ! Speaking of a needle in a haystack 
puts me in mind of a story,” burst out Shadow. 

“What! another?” groaned Roger in mock 
dismay; and all of the others present held up their 
hands as if in horror. 

“ This is just a little one,” pleaded the former 
story-teller of Oak Hall. “ A man once heard 
a lady speak about trying to find the needle in 
the haystack. ‘ Say, madam,’ said the man, very 
earnestly, ‘ a needle in a haystack wouldn’t be no 
good to nobody. If one of the animals got it in 
his throat, it would ’most kill ’im.’ ” 

“Wow!” 

“Does anybody see the point?” questioned 
Roger. 

“ What do you mean — the point of the 
needle?” demanded Dave. 

“ If you had the eye you could see better,” sug- 
gested Ben. 

“ I don’t care, it’s a pretty good joke,” pro- 
tested the story-teller. 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 


ii5 

“ Hurrah ! Shadow is stuck on the needle joke ! ” 
announced Dave. “ Anyhow, it would seem so.” 

“Jumping tadpoles!” ejaculated Roger. 
“ Boys, did you catch that? ” 

“ Catch what? ” asked Phil innocently. 

“ Phil wasn’t born a tailor, so maybe he never 
knew what it was to seam sew anything.” 

“ Whoop ! I’ll pummel you for that ! ” roared 
the ship-owner’s son, and made a sweep at Dave 
with his suit-case. 

But the latter dodged, and the suit-case landed 
with a bang on Shadow’s shoulder, sending the 
story-teller to the ground. 

“Say, Phil Lawrence, you be careful!” cried 
the prostrate youth, as he scrambled up. “ What 
do you think lam — a punching-bag? ” 

, “ Ten thousand pardons, Shadow, and then 

some ! ” cried the ship-owner’s son contritely. “ I 
was aiming to put Dave in the hospital, that’s 
all.” 

“ Come on and get busy and let us be off to the 
camp,” broke in Roger. “We’ll have plenty of 
time for horse-play later. We want to show you 
fellows a whole lot of things.” 

Dave insisted upon carrying one of the suit- 
cases, while Roger took another. Soon all of the 
hand-baggage was securely fastened to the saddles 
of the horses, and then the boys started on the 
journey to the construction camp. They took 


n6 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


their time, and numerous were the questions asked 
and answered on the way. 

“ Yes, I’m doing first class in business with 
dad,” announced Phil. “ We are going to buy an 
interest in another line of ships, and dad says that 
in another year he will put me at the head of our 
New York offices. Then I’ll be a little nearer to 
Crumville than I was before.” 

“ I’m glad to hear of your success, Phil,” said 
Dave. “ I don’t know of any fellow who deserves 
it more than you do.” 

“ Sometimes I wish I had taken up civil en- 
gineering, just to be near you and Roger,” went 
on the ship-owner’s son wistfully. “ But then, I 
reckon I wasn’t cut out for that sort of thing. I 
love the work I am at very much.” 

“ I suppose some day, Phil, you’ll be settling 
down with Belle Endicott,” went on our hero in a 
low tone of voice, so that the others could not 
hear. 

“ I don’t know about that, Dave,” was the 
thoughtful answer. “ Belle is a splendid girl, and 
I know she thinks a good deal of me. But her 
father is a very rich man, and she has a host of 
young fellows tagging after her. There is one 
man out in Denver, who is almost old enough to 
be her father, who has asked Mr. Endicott for her 
hand in marriage.” 

“ But Belle doesn’t want him, does she? ” 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 


117 

“ I don’t think so. But she teases me about 
him a good deal, and I must confess I don’t like 
it. That’s one reason why I am going out to Star 
Ranch.” 

“ Well, you fix it up, Phil — I know you can 
do it,” answered Dave emphatically. “ You 
know Jessie and Laura are writing to Belle con- 
tinually; and I know for a fact that Belle thinks 
more of you than she does of anybody else.” 

“ I hope what you say is true, Dave,” answered 
the ship-owner’s son wistfully. 

Naturally a bright and energetic youth with no 
hesitation when it came to business matters, Phil 
was woefully shy now that matters between him- 
self and the girl at Star Ranch had reached a 
crisis. 

In their letters Dave and Roger had told their 
chums much about the Mentor Construction Com- 
pany and what it proposed to do in that section of 
Montana. They had also written some details 
concerning the camp and the persons to be met 
there, so that when the party came in sight of the 
place the visitors felt fairly well at home. They 
were met by Frank Andrews, who was speedily 
introduced to them, and were then taken to the 
offices. 

“ I’m very glad to meet all of you,” said Mr. 
Obray, shaking hands at the introduction. “ Por- 
ter and Morr have told me all about you; and 


n8 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


I’ve told them to do what they can to make you 
feel at home during your stay. There is only one 
thing I would like to caution you about,” went on 
the manager, who occasionally liked to have his 
little joke. “ Don’t under any circumstances 
carry away any of our important engineering se- 
crets and give them to our rivals.” 

“ You can trust us on that point,” answered 
Phil readily. “ All we expect to carry away from 
here is the recollection of a grand good time.” 

“ Oh, say! That puts me in mind of a story,” 
burst out Shadow enthusiastically. “ Once a 


“ Oh, Shadow! ” remonstrated Roger. 

“ I hardly think Mr. Obray has time to listen 
to a story,” reminded Dave. 

“ Sure, I’ve got time to listen if the story isn’t 
a long one,” broke in the manager. 

“ Well — er — it — er — isn’t so very much of 
a story,” answered Shadow lamely. “ It’s about 
a fellow who told his friends how he had been 
hunting ostriches in Mexico.” 

“Ostriches in Mexico!” repeated Mr. Obray 
doubtfully. 

“ Yes. A man told his friends that he had been 
hunting ostriches in Mexico with great success. 
His friends swallowed the story for several days, 
and then began to make an investigation. Then 
they went to the man and said: ‘See here. 


THE OAK HALL CHUMS 119 

You said you had been hunting ostriches in 
Mexico. There are no ostriches there.’ ‘ I 
know it,’ said the man calmly. ‘ I killed them 
all.’ ” And at this story the manager laughed 
heartily. Then he dismissed the crowd, for he 
had much work ahead. 

“ A nice man to work for,” was Ben’s comment, 
when the visitors were being shown to their 
quarters in the bunk-houses. 

“ As nice a man as ever lived, Ben,” answered 
Dave. “ Roger and I couldn’t have struck it 
better.” 

“ I know I’m going to enjoy myself here,” an- 
nounced Shadow. “ All of your gang seem so 
pleasant.” 

“ And I want to learn something about civil en- 
gineering,” announced Ben. “ Maybe some day 
I’ll take it up myself.” 


CHAPTER XII 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 

The next morning all of the former Oak Hall 
chums were up by sunrise. As Dave had said, 
they wanted to make the most of their time. 

“ It’s a beautiful location,” was Phil’s com- 
ment, as he stood out on the edge of the camp 
and surveyed the surroundings. 

On one side were the tall mountains and on the 
other the broad valley, with the little winding 
river shimmering like a thread of silver in the 
sunlight. 

“ Nice place to erect a bungalow,” added Ben. 

“ What are you thinking of, Ben — erecting 
bungalows and selling off town lots?” queried 
Roger slyly. 

“ Oh, I didn’t get as far as that,” laughed the 
son of the Crumville real estate dealer. “ Just 
the same, after your railroad gets into operation 
somebody might start a summer colony here.” 

The visitors were shown around the camp, and 
at the ringing of the breakfast bell were led by 
Roger and Dave into the building where the meals 
120 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 


121 


were served. And there all did full justice to the 
cooking of Jeff and his assistant. 

The youths had talked the matter over the 
evening before, and it had been decided to take 
an all-day trip on horseback along the line of the 
proposed railroad. 

“ We’ll show you just what we are trying to 
do,” Roger had said. “ Then you’ll get some 
idea of what laying out a new railroad in a country 
like this means.” 

“ I wish I could have gone down to the Rio 
Grande when Ben went down,” remarked Phil. 
“ I would like to have seen that new Catalco 
Bridge your company put up there.” 

“ It certainly was a fine bit of engineering 
work! ” cried Ben. He turned to Dave. “ You 
don’t expect to put up any bridge like that here, 
do you? ” 

“ Not just like that, Ben. Here we are going 
to put up fifteen or twenty bridges. None of 
them, however, will be nearly as long as the Ca- 
talco Bridge. But some of them will be consid- 
erably higher. In one place we expect to erect a 
bridge three hundred feet long which, at one 
point, will be over four hundred feet high.” 

A substantial lunch had been packed up for them 
by the cook, and with this stowed safely away in 
some saddlebags, the five youths set out from the 
construction camp, Dave, with Phil at his side, 


122 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


leading the way, and the others following closely. 

Every one felt in tiptop spirits, and conse- 
quently the talk was of the liveliest kind, with 
many a joke and hearty laugh. Shadow Hamil- 
ton was allowed full sway, and told a story when- 
ever the least opportunity presented itself. 

“ Some mountains around here, and no mis- 
take,” observed Phil, after they had climbed to 
the top of one stretch of the winding trail and 
there come to a halt to rest the horses. 

“ That climb would be a pretty hard one for 
an auto,” observed Ben. “ It’s worse than some 
of the climbs we had to take when we were mak- 
ing that tour through the Adirondacks to Bear 
Camp.” 

“ Oh, say! Speaking of climbing a hill in an 
auto puts me in mind of a story! ” burst our Shad- 
ow eagerly. “ A man got a new automobile of 
which he was very proud, and took out one of his 
friends, a rather nervous individual, to show him 
what the auto could do. They rode quite a dis- 
tance, and then the man started to go up a steep hill. 
He had a terrible time reaching the top, the auto al- 
most refusing to make it. But at last, when he did 
get up, he turned to his friend and said : ‘ Some 

hill, eh? But we took it just the same.’ To this 
the nervous man answered: ‘I was afraid you 
wouldn’t make it. If I hadn’t put on the hand- 
brake good and hard, you would have slipped 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 


123 


back sure.’ ” And at this little joke the others 
smiled. 

Having rested, the party proceeded on the way 
once more, and Dave and Roger pointed out what 
had been done toward surveying the new line and 
where the bridges and culverts were to be con- 
structed; and they even drew little diagrams on a 
pad Dave carried, to show how some of the 
bridges were going to be erected. 

“ It certainly is a great business,” was Phil’s 
comment. u I should think it would be pretty 
hard to learn.” 

“ It is hard, Phil. But we are bound to do 
it,” answered Dave. “ We are going to learn all 
about surveying and draughtsmanship, and in the 
meantime we are brushing up on geometry and 
trigonometry, and half a dozen other things that 
pertain to civil engineering. We’ve got a great 
many things to learn yet, before we’ll be able to 
tackle a job on our own hook,” he added, with a 
little smile. 

From time to time the youths talked about the 
days spent at Oak Hall and of what had become of 
numerous schoolfellows. The visitors discussed 
the doings of Nick Jasniff in that vicinity, and 
they wondered what that rascal would do next. 

“ Like the proverbial bad penny, he’ll be sure 
to turn up again sooner or later,” was Phil’s com- 
ment. 


124 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ I’m afraid you’re right,” sighed Dave. 

Thinking that they might possibly spot a bob- 
cat or some other wild animal, Dave had brought 
a double-barreled shotgun along, and Roger car- 
ried old Hixon’s rifle. The others were armed 
with small automatic pistols, purchased especially 
to be carried on the trip to Star Ranch. 

“ But I don’t suppose we’ll sight anything worth 
shooting now we’re armed,” remarked our hero. 
“ That’s the way it usually is.” 

Noon found the chums in the very heart of the 
mountains. They had been told by Hixon where 
they could find a fine camping-spot close to a 
spring of pure, cold water; and there they teth- 
ered their horses and proceeded to make them- 
selves at home. They had brought along some 
coffee and a pot to make it in, and presently they 
started a small fire for that purpose. 

“ A fellow could certainly camp out here and 
have a dandy time,” remarked Ben, when the odor 
of the coffee permeated the camp. “ There must 
be plenty of game somewhere in these mountains 
and plenty of fish in the streams.” 

“ Yes, the streams are full of fish,” answered 
Roger. “ But about the game, I am not so sure. 
There are plenty of birds and other small things, 
but big game, like deer, bear, and mountain lions 
are growing scarcer and scarcer every year, so 
Hixon says. He thinks that every time a gun is 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 


125 


fired it drives the big game farther and farther 
back from the trails.” 

The youths brought out their lunch from the 
saddlebags, and when the coffee was ready they 
sat down to enjoy their midday repast. The long 
horseback ride of the morning had whetted their 
appetites, and with little to do, they took their 
time over the meal. 

“ Let’s take a walk around this neighborhood 
before we continue the ride,” said Roger, when 
they were repacking their things. “ I’m a bit 
tired of sitting in the saddle, and had just as lief 
do some walking.” 

Seeing to it that their horses could not get away, 
the five youths started to climb up the rocks to 
where the summit of the mountain along which 
they had been traveling would afford a better view 
of their surroundings. It was hard work, and 
they frequently had to help each other along. 

“ Be careful, Shadow, or you may get a nasty 
tumble,” cautioned Dave, just before the summit 
was gained. 

“ Don’t worry about me, Dave,” panted the 
former story-teller of Oak Hall. “ I know 
enough to hang on when I’m climbing in a place 
like this. I’m not like the fellow in the story who 
let go to spit on his hands.” 

From the summit of the mountain they could 
see for many miles in every direction, and here 


126 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


Ben, who had brought along a pocket camera, in- 
sisted upon taking a number of views — two with 
the others seated on several of the nearby rocks. 
Then Dave made Ben pose and took two more 
pictures. 

“ It’s too bad we can’t take a picture of Ben 
shooting a bear or a wildcat,” remarked Roger. 
“ That would be a great one to take home and 
show the folks.” 

“ I’d rather have a picture of you and Dave 
building one of those big bridges you spoke about,” 
answered the other youth. “ Then we could have 
a couple of copies framed and shipped to Jessie 
and Laura; ” and at this dig Ben had to dodge, 
for both Dave and Roger picked up bits of rock 
to shy at him. 

“ Let’s walk across the summit of this mountain 
and see what it looks like on the other side,” sug- 
gested Shadow. “ I suppose we’ve got time 
enough, haven’t we? ” 

“ We’ve got all the time there is, Shadow,” 
answered Dave. “ It won’t make any difference 
how late it is when we get back to camp.” 

One after another they trudged along through 
the underbrush and among the loose stones on the 
mountain summit, which was a hundred yards or 
more in diameter. In some places they had to 
pick their way with care, for there were num- 
erous cracks and hollows. 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 


127 

“ A fellow doesn’t want to go down into one 
of those cracks,” remarked Phil, after leaping 
over an opening which was several feet wide and 
probably fifteen or twenty feet in depth. 

“ He’d get a nasty tumble if he did,” answered 
Roger. 

“ And he’d have a fine time of it getting out if 
he chanced to be alone ! ” broke in our hero. 

With the sun shining brightly and not a cloud 
obscuring the sky, the five chums presently reached 
the other side of the mountain. Looking down, 
they saw a heavy wilderness of trees sloping gently 
down to the hollow below them and then up on 
the side of the mountain beyond. 

“ Isn’t that perfectly grand ! ” murmured Ben. 
“ Just think of the thousands upon thousands of 
feet of timber in that patch ! ” 

“ Yes. And think of all the masts for ships ! ” 
added Phil, with a little laugh. 

“ And flagpoles ! ” exclaimed Dave. “ I guess 
there would be enough flagpoles in that patch to 
plant a pole in front of every schoolhouse in the 
United States.” 

“ Well, every schoolhouse ought to have a flag- 
pole, and ought to have Old Glory on it, too ! ” 
cried Roger. “ My father says that people gen- 
erally don’t make half enough display of our 
flag." 

The youths walked along the edge of the sum- 


128 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


mit for quite a distance, looking off to the north- 
ward and southward. Then, after Ben had taken 
a few more pictures, they started back for where 
they had left the horses. 

“ Come on, let’s have a race! ” cried Ben sud- 
denly. “ First fellow to reach the horses wins the 
prize ! ” 

“ And what’s the prize? ” queried Phil. 

“Won’t tell it to you till you win it! ” broke 
in Dave. 

With merry shouts, all of the chums started on 
a run for where they supposed the horses had 
been left. They soon found themselves in the 
midst of the underbrush and many loose rocks, 
around which they had to make their way. Some 
thought the horses were in one direction and some 
another, and as a consequence they soon became 
separated, although still within calling distance. 

“Hi! Be careful that you don’t go down in 
some hole and break a leg,” cautioned Dave. 

“ That’s right! ” sang out Roger, who was some 
distance off. “ Some of these rocks are mighty 
treacherous.” 

Forward went the crowd, and in about ten 
minutes Dave and Roger found themselves in sight 
of the former camping spot. Phil and Ben were 
also coming on from around some rocks on the 
left, and each of the crowd put on an extra burst 
of speed to reach the horses first. 


ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP 129 

“ I win ! ” cried Roger, as he caught hold of one 
of the saddles. 

At the same moment, Phil touched another of 
the animals, and a few seconds later Dave and Ben 
did the same. 

“ Pretty close race for all of us! ” cried Ben; 
and then, of a sudden, he looked around. 
“ Where is Shadow? ” 

The four who had reached the horses looked 
back toward the brushwood and the rocks around 
which they had made their way. They waited 
for several seconds, expecting each instant that 
the former story-teller of Oak Hall would show 
himself. But Shadow failed to appear. 

“ Hello, Shadow ! Hello ! Where are you ? ” 
sang out Dave, at the top of his lungs. 

No answer came to this call, and one after an- 
other the others also summoned their missing 
chum. They listened intently, but not a sound of 
any kind broke the quietness of the mountain top. 

“ Something has happened to him, that’s sure,” 
remarked Roger, his face growing grave. 

“ I guess we had better go back and look for 
him,” announced Dave. 


CHAPTER XIII 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 

“ Who saw Shadow last? Does anybody 
know?” questioned Dave, as the whole crowd 
looked at each other in perplexity. 

“ He was close to me when we started the 
race,” answered Phil. “ But I soon got ahead of 
him and turned to one side of some big rocks while 
he went to the other side.” 

“ And didn’t you see him after that? ” 

“ No. But I heard him call to some of the 
others.” 

“ I think he was close behind me during the 
first half of the race,” broke in Roger. “ But 
after that I drew away from him.” 

“ We’ll go back to where we started from and 
keep calling his name,” said our hero. “ He’ll 
be bound to hear us if he is anywhere around.” 

“ Perhaps he went down into one of those open- 
ings between some of the rocks and was knocked 
unconscious,” suggested Ben. “ Such a thing 
could easily happen.” 

“ Oh, I hope he isn’t seriously hurt! ” cried the 
senator’s son. 

130 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 131 

Very soberly the four youths climbed back to 
the summit of the mountain, and then began to re- 
trace their steps toward the other side. They 
kept calling Shadow’s name continually, but no 
answer came back. 

“ Over yonder is the worst opening I had to 
jump over,” remarked Roger, when they were 
near the center of the summit. 

“ Let us look at it, right away,” returned our 
hero quickly. 

All hurried to the place Roger had mentioned. 
It was an opening between some rough rocks, and 
was all of a hundred feet long and two to eight 
feet in width. How deep it was they could not 
surmise, for the walls curved from one side to the 
other, so that the bottom of the opening was out 
of sight. 

“ Looks to me as if it might be the entrance to 
some cave,” announced Ben, as all came to a halt 
on the brink of the opening. “ Listen! ” 

The crowd did so, and at the bottom of the 
opening they heard a faint splashing of water as 
it poured over the rocks. 

“ Must be an underground stream down there,” 
remarked Phil. 

“ Perhaps it’s the same stream that furnishes 
water to the spring at our camp,” suggested Dave. 
He sent up a shout. “ Hello, Shadow ! Are 

you down there? ” 


132 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Help ! Help ! ” came in a low voice from 
below. 

“ He’s down there, as sure as fate ! ” exclaimed 
Roger. 

“ Are you hurt? ” shouted Phil. 

“ I’m pretty well scraped up, that’s all. But 
the rocks down here are all smooth and wet, and 
I can’t climb up — try my best.” 

“ You are in no danger just at present, are 
you? ” questioned Dave quickly. 

“ I don’t think so — unless you fellows roll 
down some stones on me.” 

“We’ll be careful about that,” answered Ben; 
and lost no time in pushing back a number of 
stones which lay close to the brink of the opening. 

“ We’ll have to get a rope or something with 
which to haul him up,” said Phil. “ Dave, did we 
bring anything of that sort along? ” 

“ Yes, I’ve got a good strong lariat tied to 
my saddle,” answered our hero. “ Frank An- 
drews advised taking it along; for when you are 
traveling among the mountains you can never tell 
when you’ll need such a rope. I’ll go back and 
get it.” 

“ Maybe you’d better bring a few straps along, 
too, Dave,” put in Roger. “ Then, if Shadow 
can’t haul himself up, he can tie himself fast and 
we can pull him up.” 

“ Good idea, Roger. I’ll do it.” 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 


133 


Dave was soon on his way, and in less than 
twenty minutes he was back to the spot, carrying 
the lariat he had mentioned and also a number of 
straps taken from the outfit. The lariat was of 
rawhide, and more than once had been tested by 
the civil engineers for its strength. It had been 
purchased by Andrews from a cowboy in Texas, 
after the latter had given a very fine exhibition of 
lassoing steers with it. 

“ We’re sending down the end of a lariat with 
some straps,” called down Dave. “ Let us know 
as soon as it is low enough.” 

“ All right,” answered Shadow, but somewhat 
feebly, for the tumble had evidently knocked the 
breath out of him. 

Tying the loose straps to the end of the rope, 
and weighting the whole down with a stone, Dave 
lowered the lariat carefully over the edge of the 
opening. It slipped through his hands readily, 
and soon the end disappeared from sight over a 
bulge of the wall below. All of the others 
watched the rope as it disappeared into the open- 
ing. They waited for some cry from Shadow, 
stating that he had hold of the other end, but none 
came. 

“ Maybe it caught somewhere on the way 
down,” suggested Ben. 

“ Well, here’s the end of it anyway,” an- 
nounced Dave. “ And the other end must be free 


134 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

for I can still feel the weight of the straps and 
the stone.” 

“ Hello, down there ! ” shouted Roger. “ Can 
you see the rope? ” 

“ Yes,” answered Shadow. “ Please let it 
down about two feet farther.” 

“ I can’t do that just now. I’m at the end of 
the rope,” answered Dave. “ Just wait a few 
minutes, and we’ll fix you up.” 

“ We’ll have to tie something to it,” said Roger. 
“ Too bad we didn’t keep one or two of those 
straps up here.” 

“ Let’s get a stout sapling and tie that to the 
lariat,” said Phil. “ That will be even stronger 
than the straps.” 

On the edge of the summit they had noticed 
a number of saplings growing, and in a few min- 
utes they had one of these uprooted. It was ten 
or twelve feet in height, and plenty strong enough 
for the purpose intended. It was tied fast by 
the roots, and then they lowered it into the open- 
ing, all taking hold of the other end, so that it 
might not slip from them. 

“ All right, I’ve got the rope now,” announced 
Shadow, a few seconds later. “ Just hold it as it 
is.” 

“ Do you think you can haul yourself up, 
Shadow? ” asked Dave. “ Or do you want us to 
do the hauling? ” 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 135 

“ I guess you had better do it if you can,” an- 
swered the youth below. “ That tumble made me 
kind of weak and shaky.” 

“ Then strap yourself good and tight,” an- 
swered Roger. “ See to it that the lariat won’t 
slip from the straps, either.” 

It was almost dark at the bottom of the hollow 
into which Shadow had tumbled. He was in wa- 
ter up to his ankles. But this the unfortunate 
youth did not mind, for the stream had enabled 
him to bathe his hurts and obtain a refreshing 
drink. Now he lost no time in fastening one of 
the large straps around his waist, and to this he 
attached the lariat by a firm knot. Then, to make 
assurance doubly sure, he tied another of the 
straps to the rope and around his left wrist. 

“ Now I’m ready! ” he shouted to those above. 
“ But do be careful and don’t send any rocks or 
dirt down on my head ! ” His hat had fallen off 
and into the stream, but he had recovered it, and 
was now using it as a protection for his head. 

“ We’ll be as careful as we can,” announced 
Dave. “ If anything goes wrong, shout out at 
once.” 

It had been decided that Dave and Roger 
should haul up on the sapling and the lariat; 
and while they were doing this, Ben and Phil were 
to hold fast to them in order to prevent any of 
the party from going over the brink. 


i 3 6 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Soon the sapling came out of the opening, and 
then the lariat came up inch by inch. 

“Are you all right, Shadow?” demanded our 
hero, when about half of the rope had been pulled 
up. 

“ All right, so far,” was the gasped-out answer. 
“ For gracious’ sake, don’t let me drop ! ” 

“ Don’t worry,” answered Roger. And then 
he added to Ben: “Just carry the sapling back 
and stick it between those rocks, then we’ll be sure 
that the rope can’t slip.” 

As Shadow even though thin, was tall and 
weighed all of one hundred and thirty pounds, it 
was no easy matter to haul him up out of the 
opening, especially as the lariat had to slip over 
several bends of the rocks. Once there came a 
hitch, and it looked as if the lariat with its bur- 
den would come no farther. But Shadow man- 
aged to brace himself and climb up a few feet and 
loosen the rope, and then the remainder of the 
haul was easy. Soon he came into sight, and in a 
few seconds more those above helped him over the 
brink of the opening and to a place of safety. 

“ Thank heaven, I’m out of that! ” he panted, 
as he sat down on a nearby rock to rest. “ I owe 
you fellows a good deal for hauling me out of 
that hole.” 

“ Don’t mention it, Shadow,” answered Dave 
readily. 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 137 

“ We’d do a good deal more for you than that,” 
added Roger. 

“Indeed we would!” came simultaneously 
from the others. 

“ After this I’m going to be careful of how I 
run and jump,” answered Shadow. 

“ How did you come to go down? ” questioned 
Phil. 

“ That was the funniest thing you ever heard 
about,” was the quick reply. “ Just as I came 
into sight of this opening, I felt one of my shoes 
getting loose. I bent down to feel of it, and the 
next instant I stumbled over something and rolled 
right down into the hole. Of course, I tried to 
save myself, but it was of no use, and down I 
went quicker than you can think. I struck the 
rocks on one side of the opening, and then on the 
other side, and hit some bushes and dirt. Then, 
the next thing I knew, I went ker-splash! into a 
big pool of water.” 

“ And that pool of water saved you from break- 
ing your neck,” broke in Ben. 

“ More than likely. I got up out of the pool 
in a hurry, and then I walked several yards to 
where the stream of water wasn’t nearly so deep. 
Then I set up a yell, and kept at it for nearly a 
quarter of an hour. I had just about given up 
thinking you would ever find me, when I heard you 
yelling.” 


138 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ As soon as you’ve rested, we’ll help you back 
to our camping place,” announced Dave. “ Then 
we can start up the fire again and you can dry 
yourself; ” for he saw that Shadow was soaking 
wet from his back down. 

“ I’m thankful this adventure has ended so 
well,” was Phil’s comment. “ What would we 
have done if anything had happened to you? ” 

“ As it was, enough did happen,” answered 
Shadow ruefully. Then, of a sudden, his face 
broke into a smile. “ Say, when I was down there 
I thought of a dandy story! One day two men 
went to clean a well ” 

This was as far as the former story-teller of 
Oak Hall got with his narrative. The others 
gazed at him for a moment in wonder, and then 
all broke out into a uproarious fit of laughter. 

“ Can you beat it! ” gasped Phil. 

“ I guess Shadow would tell stories if he was 
going to his own funeral ! ” came from Roger. 

“ You’ve certainly got your nerve with you, 
Shadow,” announced Dave. 

“ I suppose you thought of the story while you 
were tumbling down into the opening,” suggested 
Ben. 

“ No, I didn’t think of it just then,” answered 
the story-teller innocently. “ It came to me while 
I was waiting for you fellows to get the rope.” 

“ Never mind the story now,” said Dave. “ If 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 139 

you are rested, let us get back to the camp and 
start up that fire. We don’t want you to catch 
cold.” For on the summit of the mountain there 
was a keen, cool breeze. 

They were soon on the way, Dave on one side 
of Shadow to support him and Roger on the other. 
Phil and Ben ran ahead, and by the time the youth 
who had taken the tumble arrived, more wood had 
been placed on the campfire, and it was blazing up 
merrily, sending out considerable warmth. 

“ That’s an adventure we didn’t count on,” re- 
marked Phil, while Shadow was drying out his 
clothing in front of the blaze. 

“ Well, something is bound to happen when we 
get together,” answered Roger. “ It always 
does.” 

“ After this we had better keep our eyes peeled 
for all sorts of danger,” said Dave. “ We don’t 
want anything bad to happen to our visitors during 
their stay.” 

Half an hour was spent in the camp, and by 
that time Shadow’s wet clothing had dried out suf- 
ficiently to be worn again. The former story-tel- 
ler of Oak Hall had been allowed to tell several 
of his best yarns, and now seemed to be in as good 
a humor as ever. His hands and his shins had 
been scraped by his fall, but to these little hurts he 
gave scant attention. 

“ I came out on this trip with Phil just to see 


1 40 DAVE PORTER’S. GREAT SEARCH 

what rough life was like,” he announced. “ If 
something hadn’t happened to me I surely would 
have been disappointed.” 

“ You’ll see enough of rough life before you get 
home again, Shadow,” said Phil. “ Just you wait 
till you get to Star Ranch. I’ll have some of the 
cowboys there put you through a regular course of 
sprouts.” 

Just before the party got ready to break camp, 
Ben wandered off to get several more pictures. 
He went farther than he had originally intended, 
the various scenes before his eyes proving decid- 
edly fascinating. He took a view of some rocks, 
and then gazed for a long time across to a hill 
some distance away. Then he returned quickly to 
where he had left the others. 

“ Say, fellows, I’ve discovered some game ! ” he 
cried. 

“ Game ? ” queried Dave. “ What kind ? ” 

“ I don’t know exactly what they were,” an- 
swered the youth from Crumville. “ They looked 
though to be a good deal like a couple of bears. 
They are off in that direction,” and he pointed 
with his hand. 

“ Say, let’s go after them, no matter what they 
are ! ” exclaimed Phil. “ I’d like to get a shot at 
something before we return to the construction 
camp.” 

“ I’m willing,” announced Dave. 


TO THE RESCUE OF SHADOW 


141 


“ Shall we go on horseback or on foot? ” ques- 
tioned Shadow. “ For myself, I’d rather ride 
than walk.” 

“ Oh, we’ll go on horseback,” answered Roger. 
“ There is no use of our coming back to this place. 
Come on — let us get after that game right now ! 
Ben, you show the way.” 


CHAPTER XIV 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 

The campfire was stamped out with care, so 
that there would be no danger of a conflagration 
in the forest so close at hand, and then the five 
lively chums leaped into the saddle once more and 
started off in the direction in which Ben had said 
he had seen the game. 

“ What made you think they were a couple of 
bears?” questioned Dave, as they rode along as 
rapidly as the roughness of the trail permitted. 

“ They looked as much like bears as they looked 
like anything,” answered his chum. “ Of course, 
they were quite a distance away, and I may have 
been mistaken. But anyway, they were some sort 
of animals, and quite large.” 

“ Were they standing still? ” 

“ No. They appeared and disappeared among 
the rocks and bushes. That’s the reason I 
couldn’t make out exactly what they were.” 

“ Perhaps they were deer,” suggested Phil. 

“ I think they were too chunky for deer — and 
even for goats. Besides that, they didn’t leap 
142 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 


143 


from one rock to another as deer and goats do.” 

“ Could they have been bobcats? ” 

“ No. They were larger than that.” 

The chums soon had to leave the regular trail, 
and then found themselves in a section of the 
mountainside sparingly covered with bushes and 
an occasional tree. The rocks were exceedingly 
rough, and in many places they had to come to a 
halt to figure out how best to proceed. 

“ Say, we don’t want to get lost! ” remarked 
Phil. 

“ I don’t think we’ll do that, Phil,” answered 
Dave. “ Roger and I know the lay of the moun- 
tains pretty well around here. And besides, I 
brought my pocket compass along. Just at pres- 
ent we are northeast of the construction camp.” 

They could not go in a direct line to where Ben 
had noticed the game, and it therefore took them 
the best part of an hour to reach the vicinity. 

“ Now I guess we had better be on the watch,” 
announced Dave, and unslung the shotgun he car- 
ried, while Roger did the same with the rifle. 
Seeing this, the others looked to their automatic 
pistols, to make certain that the weapons were 
ready for instant use. 

For fully half an hour the five chums rode up 
and down along the side of the hill and had Ben 
point out to them just where he had seen the two 
animals. 


i 4 4 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ It looks to me as if they had cleared out,” 
said Phil in a disgusted tone of voice. “ And if 
they have, we have had a pretty nasty ride for our 
pains.” 

“ Oh, don’t let’s give up yet ! ” pleaded Shadow. 
“ I want to get a shot at something — even if it’s 
nothing more than a squirrel.” 

“ If you don’t watch out, you may have an ele- 
phant crashing down on you,” laughed Phil. 

“ Humph, I suppose you don’t care whether we 
bring down any game or not! ” retorted Shadow. 
“ You put me in mind of a fellow who went hunt- 
ing. He came back at night, and his friends asked 
him if the hunting was good. ‘ Sure, it was 
good ! ’ he declared. ‘ I hunted all day long, and 
not a bit of game came anywhere near me to dis- 
turb my fun ! ’ ” 

“ One thing is certain,” broke in Dave. 
“ You’ve got to be quieter if you expect to find 
any game at all. You don’t suppose a bear is 
going to come out on the rocks just to listen to 
stories.” 

“ That’s right! He couldn’t bear to do it!” 
cried Roger gayly. 

“ My, my, but that’s a bare-faced joke ! ” cried 
Phil; and then there was a general laugh over the 
little puns. 

After that the youths became silent, and the 
only sound that broke the stillness was the clatter 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 


145 


of the horses as they passed over the rocks be- 
tween the brushwood. Thus another half hour 
passed, and still nothing in the way of game was 
brought to view. 

“ I guess we’ll have to give it up and continue 
our trip,” said Roger at last. 

To this the others agreed, and then all started 
off in another direction to hit the regular trail 
where it wound off towards the railroad station. 

“ I think we can make a sort of semicircle,” said 
Dave. “ And if we don’t lose too much time 
we’ll be able to get back to the construction camp 
by seven or eight o’clock.” 

All were disappointed that they had not seen 
any game, and the others began to poke fun at 
Ben, stating that his eyesight must have deceived 
him. 

“ It didn’t deceive me at all,” insisted the son 
of the Crumville real estate dealer. “ I know I 
saw them as plain as day. But what the animals 
were, I can’t say.” 

“Oh, well, never mind!” cried Phil gayly. 
“ If we can’t bring down any game, we can have 
a good time anyway. Let’s have a song.” 

“ All right, boys. Everybody go to it ! ” cried 
Dave. “Oak Hall forever!” And then all 
present began to sing, to the tune of Auld Lang 
Syne, a song they had sung ever since they had 
first gone to Oak Hall. 


i 4 6 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“Oak Hall we never shall forget, 

No matter where we roam; 

It is the very best of schoc^ls, 

To us it’s just like home. 

Then give three cheers, and let them ring 
Throughout this world so wide, 

To let the people know that we 
Elect to here abide!” 


They sang it exceeding well, Dave and Roger in 
their tenor voices, Phil and Ben filling in with their 
baritone, and the long and lanky Shadow adding 
his bass voice, which every day seemed to be grow- 
ing deeper. Then, after the verse was finished, 
at a signal from Roger, all let up the old school 
cry; 

“Baseball! 

Football ! 

Oak Hall 
Has the call ! 

Biff! Boom! Bang! Whoop!” 


“ Oh, my! wouldn’t it be grand if we were all 
going back to school to-morrow? ” burst out Phil. 

“ Oh, those good old baseball days ! ” cried Ben. 

“ And the skating and snowballing ! ” burst out 
Shadow. 

“And the football!” added Dave. “Don’t 
you remember how we used to make Rockville 
Academy bite the dust?” 

“ And all those funny initiations in the Gee 
Eyes! ” came from Roger. 

“ I think if I could do it, I’d like to go back to 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 


147 


my first days there, even if I had to stand Gus 
Plum’s insolence,” said Dave, his eyes glistening. 

“ Yes. But we wouldn’t stand for such fellows 
as Merwell and Jasniff,” added Roger quickly. 

“ Oh, let’s forget all those bullies ! ” broke out 
Phil. “ If we should ” 

Phil did not finish, for Dave had suddenly put 
up his hand as a warning to be silent. Now our 
hero motioned his chums behind some of the rocks 
and brushwood beside the trail. Then he pointed 
to a large, flat rock a distance farther on. 

“ A bear! ” gasped Shadow. 

“ Two of them ! ” burst out Ben, in a low tone. 
And then he added quickly: “I’ll bet they are 
the two animals I saw when I was taking those 
pictures ! ” 

“ Perhaps so, Ben,” answered Dave in a whis- 
per ; “ although we are a pretty good distance from 
where you spotted them. However, that doesn’t 
matter just now. The question is — what are we 
going to do ? ” 

“ Shoot ’em ! ” came promptly from all of the 
others in a breath. 

Evidently the horses had either scented or 
sighted the bears, for they showed great uneasi- 
ness. The bears, however, did not seem to be 
aware of the presence of their enemies. Both 
were bending down on the rocks, as if examining 
something intently. 


1 48 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ They are eating something,” said Roger, a 
moment later. “ See how eagerly they are lap- 
ping it up.” 

“ Maybe it’s some wild honey,” suggested Phil. 
“ I understand bears are all crazy about anything 
that is sweet.” 

The shipowner’s son was right. The bears had 
come upon the remains of a “ bee tree ” which had 
been blown down by the recent high winds. A 
section of the tree containing a large portion of the 
honey had struck the rocks, and the honey had 
spread in every direction. Now the two animals 
were frantically lapping up the sweet stuff, each 
trying to get his fill before the other got it away 
from him. 

“ I guess Roger and I had better fire first,” said 
Dave. “ I’ll take the bear on the left, and you, 
Roger, take the one on the right. Then, as soon 
as we have fired, you other fellows can let drive 
for all you are worth with your automatics while 
we are reloading. Then, if the bears are not dead 
by that time, we’ll try our best to give them an- 
other dose of lead.” 

So it was arranged, and a moment later the 
crowd of five dismounted and tied their horses to 
some trees. Then they crept forward, keeping 
as much as possible behind the rocks, so that the 
feeding bears might not see them. 

Ordinarily the bears would have been on the 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 


149 

alert, and their quick sense of smell would have 
made it impossible for the youths to get within 
shooting distance. But now both animals were so 
absorbed in lapping up the honey spread around 
on the rocks, that they paid absolutely no atten- 
tion to anything else. It is also possible that the 
smell of the honey was so strong that it helped to 
hide every other odor. 

“Now then, fellows, are you ready?” whis- 
pered Dave, when they had gained a point behind 
the rocks which was not over a hundred and fifty 
feet from the bears. 

“ All ready ! ” was the whispered return. 

It must be confessed that some of the youths 
were nervous. Shadow’s hand shook as he 
started to level his automatic pistol. Had he been 
called on to face a bear all alone, it is quite likely 
that he would have been struck with what is known 
among hunters as “ buck fever,” and would have 
been totally unable to do anything. 

Bang! crack! went the shotgun and the rifle. 
And almost immediately came the crack! crack! 
crack! of the three automatic pistols. 

Then, as the bears whirled around and started 
to run, Dave fired again, and so did Roger, and 
the others continued to discharge their small fire- 
arms as rapidly as possible. 

Dave’s first shot had been a most effective one, 
taking one of the bears directly in an ear and an 


150 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

eye. This had been followed up by the second 
shot, and also several shots from the pistols, and 
presently the animal raised up on his hind legs 
and then came down with a crash, to roll over and 
over among the rocks and brushwood. 

“ He’s done for, I think! ” cried our hero with 
much satisfaction. 

“ Don’t be too sure,” remonstrated Ben, who 
was close behind. u He may be playing ’pos- 
sum.” 

In the meantime, the other bear had leaped out 
of sight behind some of the rocks. Now, as Dave 
stopped to reload the double-barreled shotgun, the 
others went on, intent, if possible, on bringing the 
second beast low. That he had been hit, there 
was no doubt, for he had squealed with pain and 
flapped one forepaw madly in the air. 

The youths with the pistols were the first to 
again catch sight of the second bear. He stood at 
bay between a number of large rocks, and snarled 
viciously as soon as he caught sight of them. He 
arose on his hind legs and made a movement as if 
to leap directly toward them. 

“ Shoot! Shoot! ” yelled Roger, and discharged 
his rifle once more. But the shot whistled harm- 
lessly over the bear’s head. Then the other 
youths took aim with their pistols, hitting bruin 
on the shoulder and in the thigh. 

These wounds were not dangerous, but they 


SOMETHING ABOUT BEARS 151 

maddened the beast very much; and, with a roar 
of rage, the bear suddenly leaped from between 
the rocks and made directly for the crowd of 
young hunters. 


CHAPTER XV 


THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 

“ Look out there! ” 

“ He’s coming this way ! ” 

“ Run for your lives! ” 

These shouts were mingled with shots from sev- 
eral of the pistols, none of which, however, took 
effect, for the sudden advance of the wounded 
bear had disconcerted the aim of the young hunt- 
ers. 

The youths scattered to the right and the left 
behind the rocks and brushwood, and as the bear 
came lumbering forward, it looked as if for the 
time being he would have the place entirely to him- 
self. Then, however, he caught sight of Roger 
and made a savage leap for the senator’s son. 

Fortunately for the youth, the rifle he carried 
was a repeating weapon, and now he let drive once 
more, sending a ball along bruin’s flank. But this 
attack only served to increase the rage of the ani- 
mal, and with a ferocious snarl he sprang forward 
and made a pass at Roger with one of his heavy 
paws. 


152 


THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 


153 


Had this blow landed as intended, it is more 
than likely the senator’s son would have been 
felled and perhaps seriously hurt. But by a quick 
backward spring, the young civil engineer dodged 
the attack. Then he fired again, and this was 
followed almost simultaneously by discharges 
from the pistols of Phil and Ben. But all the bul- 
lets flew harmlessly over the beast’s head. 

“ Run, Roger ! Run ! ” yelled the shipowner’s 
son. “ Run, or he’ll knock you down sure and 
kill you ! ” 

Roger needed no such advice, because he al- 
ready realized his peril. He turned to retreat, 
but in his haste tripped over the uneven rocks and 
went pitching headlong into some nearby brush- 
wood. 

It was at this time, when the matter looked ex- 
ceedingly serious, that Dave came once more to 
the front. He had succeeded in reloading the 
shotgun, and now, advancing rapidly, he took 
careful aim at the bear and fired twice. 

The first discharge from the shotgun took the 
huge beast directly in the neck, and as he made a 
leap forward, as if to cover the distance that 
separated him from our hero, the second dose of 
shot landed in his stomach. He let out a fright- 
ful roar of pain and rage, and then pitched for- 
ward with a crash on a rock and rolled over and 
over down into a near-by hollow. 


154 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Reload as fast as you can, fellows! ” ordered 
Dave. “ Don’t take any chances. Neither of 
those beasts may be dead; ” and he started at once 
to look after his own weapon. 

Years before his Uncle Dunston, who, as my 
old readers know, was a famous hunter, had im- 
pressed upon the youth the truth that an unloaded 
weapon is a very useless affair. 

It must be admitted that Roger’s hand shook 
not a little while he was looking to make sure that 
his rifle was in condition for further use. Poor 
Shadow had gone white, and now sat on a flat 
rock, too weak in the knees to stand up. 

“ Maybe we had better give the bears some 
more shots before we go near them,” suggested 
the former story-teller of Oak Hall, in a voice 
which sounded strangely unnatural even to him- 
self. 

“ It wouldn’t do any harm to give them a few 
shots from the pistols,” answered Dave. “ Then 
we can all say we had a hand in laying them low.” 
And thereupon those who possessed the smaller 
weapons proceeded to make sure that the bears 
should never have a chance to fight again. 

“ Dave, I’ve got to hand it to you for coming 
to my assistance,” said Roger warmly, as soon as 
he had recovered from his scare. “ Gracious ! I 
thought sure that bear was going to jump right on 
me!” 



Dave took careful aim at the rear and fired.— Page 153, 






































. 















, 





















THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 155 

“ Dave is the head hunter of this crowd,” an- 
nounced Phil. 

“ He takes after his Uncle Dunston when it 
comes to shooting,” put in Ben. “ Both of them 
can hit the bull’s-eye without half trying.” 

“I — I — don’t think I want to do much hunt- 
ing after this,” was Shadow’s comment. “ That 
is, hunting for big game. I wouldn’t mind going 
out after rabbits and birds and things like that.” 

“ Oh, you’ll get used to it after a while, 
Shadow,” answered Dave. “ I know how I felt 
when I faced my first big game. I had all I could 
do to steady my nerves.” 

“ Not such very big bears, when you come to 
look them over,” said Ben, who was making a 
close inspection. 

“ They certainly looked big enough when they 
stood up on their hind legs and came for us,” 
answered Phil. “ I guess a bear must shrink 
after he’s dead;” and at this remark there was 
something of a laugh. Now that the tension had 
been removed, some of the youths were inclined to 
be a bit hysterical. 

“ What are we going to do with the bears? ” 
questioned Phil. 

“Can’t we save the skins and the heads?” 
asked Ben. 

“ Yes, we can do that,” answered Dave. “ I 
don’t believe the skins are particularly good at this 


156 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

time of the year, but you fellows might draw lots 
for them and take them home as trophies of the 
occasion.” 

On their numerous hunting trips Dave and 
Roger, as well as Phil, had seen large game 
skinned and dressed on more than one occasion, 
and, consequently, the task before them was not 
an altogether new one. In the outfit they had 
brought along there was a hunting-knife, and also 
a good sharp carving-knife, and with these tools, 
and the aid of the hatchet they had brought along, 
they set to work to skin both of the bears and cut 
each head from the rest of the body. It was no 
easy job, and took much longer than they had 
anticipated. 

“ As soon as we have finished we had better 
make for the construction camp,” said Dave. 

“ What are you going to do with the bear 
meat? ” asked Roger. “ It’s a shame to leave it 
here.” 

“ We can cut out some of the best of the steaks, 
Roger; and then we can hang the rest of the meat 
up on the limbs of a tree. Then, if we want to 
come back for it to-morrow, or any of the others 
at the camp want to come and get it, why all 
right.” 

One of the saddle-bags was cleaned out, and in 
this they placed the very choicest of the bear 
steaks. Then the heads and pelts were rolled up 


THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 


157 


and strapped into bundles. After that, by means 
of the lariat, they hoisted one carcass after the 
other into the branches of the nearest tree and 
there fastened them with straps. 

The horses were uneasy, evidently scenting the 
blood of the bears. They did not seem to fancy 
the idea of carrying the pelts and steaks, and the 
youths had all they could do to make the animals 
behave. But all the young men were used to rid- 
ing, and so, after a little prancing around, they 
made the steeds steady themselves, and then the 
journey back to the construction camp was be- 
gun. 

“ I think it is quite a while since a bear was 
brought down in this neighborhood,” said our 
hero, while they were riding along. “ Old Hixon 
told me he had been on their trail a number of 
times, but he could never get close enough to get 
a shot.” 

It was already growing dark, and long before 
the construction camp came into view, the sun sank 
over the tops of the mountains in the west and the 
long shadows began to creep across the valley. 

“ I hope you are sure of where you are going, 
Dave,” said Phil, as he rode alongside of his 
chum. 

“ I’m not so very sure of this trail, Phil,” was 
the slow answer. “ You see, this is a new bit 
of territory to Roger and me.” He turned to 


158 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

the senator’s son. “ What do you think of it? ” 

“ I hope we are on the right way,” was the 
ready reply. “ I think inside of another half hour 
we’ll strike the regular trail between the camp and 
the railroad station.” 

Soon the shadows had reached the summit of 
the mountain behind them, and then the darkness 
of night came on rapidly. As the trail was a 
most uncertain one, they had to proceed slower 
and slower, for fear of running into some danger 
which might lurk ahead. 

“ It’s a pity one of us didn’t bring a flashlight 
along,” said Ben. “ Then we could make sure of 
what sort of footing was ahead.” They were 
passing over some loose rocks at the time, and 
these occasionally made the horses slip and slide. 
Once Phil’s animal went to his knees, and made a 
great splurge and clatter regaining his footing. 

“ This is certainly some lonely spot,” was 
Roger’s comment, after they had gone forward an- 
other quarter of a mile. “ There doesn’t seem to 
be a cabin or a camp of any sort in sight.” 

“Listen! What’s that?” cried Shadow sud- 
denly, and came close up beside Dave. 

Far away in the woods they heard a peculiar 
sound. They listened intently for several min- 
utes, and then the sound was repeated. 

“ I don’t think it’s anything more than a hoot 
owl or something of that sort,” said our hero. 


THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 159 

“ Just what I think,” answered Roger. “ I’ve 
heard that cry several times since I came to Mon- 
tana. It’s a bird of some sort.” 

They had been going downward, but now the 
little trail they were following led up over more 
loose rocks, and then into a thicket of under- 
brush. Beyond this they came to the edge of the 
mountain forest. Here Roger called a halt. 

“ This doesn’t look very good to me,” declared 
the senator’s son. “ The trail is getting worse 
and worse, and now it seems to lead directly into 
these big woods.” 

“We had better go slow about getting in among 
trees*” announced Phil. “ We might become 
hopelessly lost.” 

“Then what do you propose to do?” de- 
manded Ben. “ Go back? ” 

“ I’m sure I don’t know. I am willing to leave 
it to Dave and Roger. They know a great deal 
more about this section of the country than we 
do.” 

“ We don’t know much about this particular 
piece of ground we are on right now,” answered 
the senator’s son. “ I can’t remember that I was 
ever in this vicinity before.” 

“ Nor I,” added Dave. “ Ever since we left 
the place where we had our lunch this noon, the 
trail has been a strange one to me. Just the same, 
I think we have been heading in the general direc- 


160 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

tion of the construction camp. For all we know, 
it may be right on the other side of these big 
woods.” 

Dave brought out his pocket compass, and he 
and Roger inspected it carefully by the light from 
a match. Then the two talked the matter over 
for several minutes. 

u I’ll tell you what I think about it,” declared 
our hero finally. “ I think the best thing we can 
do is to skirt the woods instead of going through 
them.” 

“ I’m sure it would be safer,” added Phil. 

To skirt the edge of the forest, they had to 
leave the trail entirely and pick their way as best 
they could among the rocks and brushwood. 
Soon the horses hesitated about going forward, 
and then they had to dismount and lead the ani- 
mals. 

“If we can’t locate the camp after we get 
around the edge of the woods, what are we going 
to do?” questioned Roger of our hero in a low 
voice, so that the others who were coming on be- 
hind might not hear. 

“ I’m sure I don’t know, Roger,” was the un- 
satisfactory reply. 

“ We’ve got to do something, Dave. We can’t 
stay out here all night.” 

“ Oh, yes, we can if we have to. If it becomes 


THE TRAIL TO NOWHERE 161 

necessary to do so, we can go into camp, light a 
fire, and broil some of those bear steaks.” 

“ Yes, we could do that. And bear steaks 
wouldn’t be half bad, seeing how hungry I am 
getting,” returned the senator’s son. “ But just 
the same, I’d rather get back to our camp to- 
night.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 

The five chums continued on their way around 
the edge of the forest. All were in a sober frame 
of mind, for each realized that, for all they knew, 
they might be hopelessly lost on the mountain- 
side. Presently the sharp decline came to an end, 
and then all of them leaped once more into the 
saddle. 

“ Look ! ” exclaimed Dave presently. “ Am I 
right? Is that a light ahead?” 

All gazed in the direction he indicated, and pres- 
ently made out a small light which was swing- 
ing to and fro as it seemed to draw closer. 

“ I believe that’s some one with a hand lan- 
tern!” cried Roger. “Maybe it’s a man on 
horseback with a lantern to light his way.” 

The five chums noted in what direction the light 
was headed, and then turned the horses toward 
the same point. Soon they came so close that they 
could call to the other party, and they set up a 
shout. 

“Hello, Porter! Hello, Morr! Is that 

162 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 163 

you?” came an answering hail. And then the 
light seemed to come to a halt. 

“ It must be one of the fellows from our 
camp ! ” exclaimed Dave. “ And if that is so, we 
can’t be very far from one of the regular trails.” 

He urged his steed forward with the others fol- 
lowing, and soon they came face to face with a 
man named Dan Morrison, who had charge of 
one of the section gangs at the camp. To this 
individual our friends explained the situation, and 
received the information that they were on a side 
trail which, half a mile farther on, ran into the 
regular trail leading to the construction camp. 

“ This trail is one of several that leads to the 
railroad station,” explained Dan Morrison. 
“ It’s something of a short cut, but it isn’t quite as 
good as any of the others. But I’m used to it, 
so I don’t mind it, even in the darkness. I carry 
the lantern more for company than for anything 
else.” 

Mr. Morrison was much surprised to hear 
about the shooting of the two bears, but the youths 
did not wait to go into details, being anxious to get 
back to the construction camp, where they hoped 
a good hot supper would be awaiting them. 

“ And if they haven’t got anything cooked for 
us, we’ll make Jeff broil some of these bear 
steaks,” announced Dave. 

“ They’ll certainly be something in the way of a 


1 64 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

novelty,” said Phil. “ Although, as a matter of 
fact, I never yet ate a bear steak that could com- 
pare to a beefsteak. The meat is usually coarser 
and tougher.” 

It was not long after this when they discerned 
the welcome lights of the construction camp in the 
distance. Then they set off on something of a 
race, and rode into camp in great style. 

“ Well, lads, what kind of a day did you have ? ” 
questioned Frank Andrews, as he came out to 
greet them. 

“ Fine!” 

“ The best ever! We shot two bears.” 

“Shot two bears!” repeated Frank Andrews 
incredulously. “ You can’t string me that way. 
Why don’t you say you brought down half a dozen 
elephants while you’re at it? ” 

“ We certainly did bring down two bears,” an- 
nounced Roger with pardonable pride. “ And 
one of them might have killed me if it hadn’t been 
for Dave.” 

“ What’s this I hear about shooting two 
bears? ” demanded another voice, and Mr. Obray 
stepped into view from the semi-darkness. 

“ It’s true, Mr. Obray,” answered Dave. 
“ Just wait, and we’ll show you the skins and the 
heads. We cut them both off to bring along. 
And we’ve got some fine bear steaks in our sad- 
dle-bags too.” 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 165 

“ And anybody who wants to, can go back and 
get the rest of the carcasses,” added Roger. 
“ We hung them up in a tree to protect them.” 

“ It doesn’t seem possible ! ” exclaimed the con- 
struction camp manager. “ One bear would be 
something worth talking about. But two ! Are 
you sure you’re not fooling? ” 

“ It’s the plain truth,” answered Phil. 

“ But I never want to go out to shoot any more 
bears,” vouchsafed Shadow. “ One bear hunt in 
a lifetime is enough for me.” 

The news soon spread throughout the construc- 
tion camp that two bears had been killed, and it 
was not long before every man in the place came 
up to view what the hunting party had brought in. 
Old John Hixon seemed to be particularly inter- 
ested. 

“ Pretty big critters — both of ’em,” was his 
comment. “ Of course, I’ve seen ’em bigger, but 
these fellows were large enough for anybody to 
wrassle with.” 

Of course the youths had to tell their story in 
detail — not only about the fight with the two 
bears, but also how Shadow had fallen into the 
opening on the mountain summit and had been 
rescued. 

“ You’ve certainly had a strenuous day of it,” 
was Ralph Obray’s comment. “ I’m glad to know 
that all of you got back in safety. After this I 


1 66 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


guess I had better keep my eyes on you,” and he 
smiled faintly. 

“ I hope we are in time for supper, Jeff ! ” cried 
Roger to the cook. “ I’m altogether too hungry 
to miss that.” 

44 You all ain’t goin’ to miss nothin’,” answered 
the cook, with a good-natured showing of his 
ivories. 44 Come right down to the dinin’-room 
and git all you wants. If you wants me to broil 
some of dem dar bear steaks, I’ll do it fo’ you.” 

44 Well, I’m mighty glad we’re not going to miss 
anything in the way of supper,” remarked Ben. 

44 Oh, say, speaking about missing something 
puts me in mind of a story! ” burst out Shadow 
eagerly, as the chums made their way toward the 
dining-room of the camp. 44 Once there was a mi- 
serly old man who was inveigled into buying a 
ticket for a charity concert. He found it impos- 
sible to get there on time, and so found the con- 
cert in full blast when he arrived. 4 Say, what are 
they playing? ’ he asked of an usher as he came 
in. 4 Why, they just started the Twelfth Sym- 
phony,’ was the reply. 4 You don’t say ! ’ groaned 
the miserly old man. 4 It’s too bad I’ve missed so 
much of the concert, after paying for that 
ticket! ’ ” 

It might go without saying that all of the youths 
enjoyed the repast which Jeff and his assistant pro- 
vided. At first they thought to have some of the 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 167 

bear steaks; but then concluded to leave those until 
the morning, when every man in the camp who 
cared to do so might have his share of the 
meat. 

On the following morning all of the visitors, 
as well as Roger, were so tired that they decided 
to remain in camp and take it easy. Dave, how- 
ever, after consulting with Mr. Obray, took two 
of the men with him and went back to where the 
carcasses of the bears had been left, and brought 
the meat back to camp. Here the steaks and the 
other portions fit to cook were enjoyed by all, and 
served to put Dave and his chums on better terms 
than ever with the others. 

Phil, Ben, and Shadow remained at the con- 
struction camp two days longer, and during that 
time the chums went fishing, as well as riding, and 
enjoyed every moment of the time. Ben was par- 
ticularly pleased, and in private confided to Dave 
and Roger that had he not promised to go on to 
Star Ranch with Phil he would willingly have put 
in the rest of his vacation with them. 

“ Oh, you’ll like it at Star Ranch just as well 
as you like it here,” announced Dave. “ It’s a 
splendid place, and the Endicotts will be sure to 
give you the time of your life.” 

The days passed all too quickly for all of the 
young men. Even Shadow complained of the 
shortness of the time, he stating that he had not 


1 68 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

had an opportunity to tell one half of his best 
stories. 

“ Never mind, Shadow, you’ll have to come 
back some day and tell us the rest of them,” said 
Roger consolingly. 

At last came the hour when the visitors had to 
depart, and Dave and Roger saw them off at the 
railroad station. 

“Give our best regards to the Endicotts!” 
cried Dave, when the long train rolled into the 
station and Phil and the others climbed on board. 

“ And don’t forget to remember us to Sid 
Todd!” added Roger, mentioning the foreman 
of Star Ranch, a man who had proved to be a 
good friend. 

“ Don’t go after any more bears ! ” sang out 
Ben. 

“ Oh, say, that puts me in mind of a story! ” 
cried Shadow. “ Once three men went out to 

hunt, and ” But what the story was about, 

Dave and Roger never heard, for the vestibule 
door to the car was closed, and in a moment more 
the long train rumbled on its way. 

“ A nice bunch, all right,” was Roger’s com- 
ment, as he and Dave turned their horses back in 
the direction of the camp. 

“ No better fellows anywhere, Roger. I’ll tell 
you, when we went to Oak Hall we made some 
friends that are worth while.” 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 169 

“ Right you are! ” The senator’s son drew a 
deep breath. “ Well, now that they have gone, 
I suppose we have got to pitch into work again.” 

“ Sure thing, Roger ! It doesn’t do to be idle 
too long.” 

“ Oh, I’m not complaining, Dave. I love my 
work too much.” 

“ That’s exactly the way I feel about it. The 
more I see of civil engineering, the deeper it 
grips me. I’m hoping some day we’ll be able to 
get together and put over some piece of work that 
is really worth while,” answered Dave earnestly. 

Two weeks slipped by without anything unusual 
happening. Their brief vacation at an end, Dave 
and Roger plunged into their work with vigor, just 
to show Mr. Obray and Frank Andrews that they 
appreciated all that had been done for them. 
During that time the weather was far from fair, 
and the young civil engineers were more than once 
drenched to the skin while at work on the moun- 
tainside. Then the numerous storms brought on 
a small landslide, and some of the results of what 
had been accomplished were swept away. 

“ That’s too bad! ” cried Dave. 

“ Oh, it’s all in the day’s work, Porter,” an- 
swered Frank Andrews philosophically. “ Mr. 
Obray is mighty thankful that none of our men 
was caught in that landslide.” 

Two days after this the storms cleared away, 


170 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

and the sky became as bright as ever. As soon as 
things had dried out a little, the engineering gangs 
went forth once more, and Dave and Roger be- 
came as busy as ever. They worked their full 
number of hours, as did the others, and in addi- 
tion spent one or two hours every evening over 
their textbooks. Frank Andrews continued to aid 
them, and often explained matters which puzzled 
them. 

The two youths had received letters from home 
on the day after their former Oak Hall chums had 
left. But since that time no other communica- 
tions had arrived. 

“ It’s queer we don’t get some more letters,” 
grumbled the senator’s son one day. 

“ Were you looking for a letter from your 
folks?” questioned Dave slyly. 

“ You know well enough what I was looking 
for,” answered Roger, his face growing a bit red. 
“ You didn’t get any letter from Jessie, did 
you? ” 

“ Not since the day you got one from Laura, 
and the day that one came from your mother.” 

“ What do you make of it, Dave? They must 
have gotten our letters.” 

“ Maybe not, Roger. Just the same, I think 
the girls would have written even if they didn’t 
get our letters.” 

“ Do you suppose anything has gone wrong? ” 


WAITING FOR LETTERS 171 

“ I don’t know what to suppose.” 

“ Maybe we ought to send a telegram,” sug- 
gested the senator’s son, after a pause. 

“ Oh, there’s no use of scaring them with a 
telegram, Roger. Let us wait a few days longer. 
We may get some letters to-morrow.” 

But the morrow passed, and so did several 
more days, including Sunday, and still no letters 
were received from Crumville. Roger got a let- 
ter from his folks in Washington, and Dave re- 
ceived a brief communication from Phil, stating 
that he and the others had arrived safely at Star 
Ranch. But all of these did not satisfy the young 
civil engineers. 

“ Something must be wrong somewhere,” an- 
nounced Dave at last. “ I guess after all, Roger, 
we had better send a telegram to Crumville and 
find out what it means.” 


CHAPTER XVII 


BAD NEWS 

On the following day the two young civil en- 
gineers were sent with the rest of the gang under 
Frank Andrews to do some work located along 
the line about half way to the railroad station. 

“ That will give us a chance to send off a tele- 
gram, n said Dave to the senator’s son. “ We 
can ask Andrews to let us off an hour earlier than 
usual and ride over to the station and get back to 
camp in time for supper.” 

So it was arranged; and as soon as they quit 
work, the two young men hurried off on a gallop 
so that they might reach the station before the 
agent, who was also the telegraph operator, went 
away. 

“ We want to send a telegram to the East,” an- 
nounced Dave, as they dismounted at the plat- 
form where the agent stood looking over some ex- 
press packages. 

“ All right, I’ll be with you in a moment,” was 
the reply. “ By the way, you are from the con- 
struction camp, aren’t you? I just got a tele- 
gram for one of the fellows over there.” 

172 


BAD NEWS 


173 


“ Who is it? ” questioned Roger. 

“ I forget the name. I’ll show it to you when 
we go inside. Maybe you wouldn’t mind taking 
it over for the fellow.” 

“ Certainly we’ll take it over,” declared Dave 
readily. 

When they passed into the office, the agent 
brought the telegram forth from a little box on 
the wall, and gazed at it. 

“ David Porter is the name,” he announced. 

“ Why, that is for me ! ” cried our hero 
quickly. 

“You don’t say! Well, there you are. It’s 
paid for.” 

Hastily the young civil engineer tore open the 
flimsy yellow envelope and gazed at the message 
inside. It read as follows: 

“ Do you or Roger know anything about Jessie 
and Laura? Answer immediately. 

“ David B. Porter.” 

“What is it?” questioned the senator’s son 
eagerly; and without replying our hero showed 
him the message. Then the two youths stared 
at each other blankly. 

“ What in the world ” began Dave. 

“Something has happened!” burst out his 
chum. “ Dave, this looks bad to me.” 

“ They want to know if we know anything. 


174 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

That must mean that Jessie and Laura are away 
from home, and they are without news about 
them.” 

“ It certainly looks that way.” 

Each of the youths read the telegram again. 
But this threw no further light on the mystery. 

“ And to think we didn’t get any letters ! That 
makes it look blacker than ever,” murmured 
Roger. 

“ I’m going to answer this at once and see if 
we can not get further information ! ” exclaimed 
our hero. He turned to the station agent. 
“ How long do you expect to remain open? ” 

“ I generally shut down about seven o’clock, but 
to-night I expect to stay open until the five-forty 
gets here, which will be about seven-thirty.” 

“ You haven’t got to go away, have you? ” con- 
tinued Dave. “ The reason I ask is that I want 
to send an important telegram off, and I’d like 
to wait here for an answer for at least a couple 
of hours. Of course, I am perfectly willing to 
pay you for your time.” 

“ I haven’t anything very much to do to-night 
after I close up, and if you want me to stay here 
I’ll do it,” announced the agent, who was not 
averse to earning extra money. 

The two young civil engineers held a consulta- 
tion, and soon after wrote out a telegram, stat- 
ing they had heard nothing since the receipt of 


BAD NEWS 


i75 

the last letters from home, the dates of which 
were given. They asked for immediate addi- 
tional information, stating they would wait at the 
telegraph office for the same. 

“Nothing wrong, I hope?” ventured the sta- 
tion master, after the telegram had been paid for 
and sent. 

“We don’t know yet. That is what we wish 
to find out,” answered Dave. And then, to keep 
the man in good humor, he passed over a dollar 
and told the agent to treat himself from a small 
case full of cigars which were on sale in the depot. 

After that there was nothing for Dave and 
Roger to do but to wait. The- agent sat down to 
read some newspapers which had been thrown off 
the last train that had passed through, and even 
offered some of the sheets to them. But they 
were in no humor for reading. They walked out- 
side, and a short distance away, and there dis- 
cussed the situation from every possible angle. 

“ If we don’t get any news, what shall we do ? ” 
queried the senator’s son. “ I’m so upset that 
I know I won’t be able to sleep a wink to-night.” 

“ Upset doesn’t express it, Roger,” returned 
Dave soberly. “ When I read that telegram it 
seemed fairly to catch me by the throat. If any- 
thing has happened to Jessie and Laura ” 

He could not finish. 

“ Dave, do you suppose those gypsies ” 


176 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ I was thinking of that, Roger. Such things 
have happened before. But let us hope for the 
best.” 

Slowly the best part of two hours passed. 
Then the station master, having looked through 
all the newspapers, came out of his office, yawn- 
ing and stretching himself. 

“ How much longer would you fellows like me 
to stay? ” he questioned. “ You know I open up 
here at six in the morning, and I live about a 
mile away and have to hoof it.” 

“ Oh, don’t go away yet,” pleaded Roger. 
“ The message may come in at any minute. 
They’ll be sure to send an answer as soon as they 
get what we sent.” 

“ Wait at least another half-hour,” added Dave. 

“ All right; ” and the agent went back into his 
office, to settle himself in his chair for a nap. 

Ten minutes later the telegraph instrument 
began to click. The station agent jumped up to 
take down the message. 

“ Is it for me? ” questioned Dave, eagerly, and 
the station master nodded. Then the two 
youths remained silent, so that there might be no 
error in taking down the communication that was 
coming in over the wire. 

“ Here you are,” said the agent at last, hand- 
ing over the slip upon which he had been writing. 
“ I’m afraid there is trouble of some kind.” 


BAD NEWS 


177 

Like the other message, this was from Dave’s 
father, and contained the following: 

“ Laura and Jessie left on visit to Boston four 
days ago. Thought them safe. They did not 
arrive and no news received. Suspect gypsies. 
Everybody upset. Mrs. Wadsworth prostrate. 
Will send any news received.” 

Dave’s heart almost stopped beating when he 
read this second telegram, and he could not trust 
himself to speak as he allowed his chum to peruse 
the communication. 

“ Oh, Dave, this is awful ! ” groaned the sen- 
ator’s son. 

“ So it is,” responded our hero bitterly. He 
read the message again. “ I wonder what we 
can do? ” 

“ I don’t see that we can do anything — • being 
away out here.” 

“ Then I’m not going to stay here — I’m going 
home,” announced Dave firmly. 

“ What! ” 

“ Yes, Roger. I’m going home. Why, you 
don’t suppose I could stay here and work with 
such a thing* as this on my mind! This looks to 
me as if Jessie and Laura had been abducted — 
or something* of that sort.” 

“ Well, if you go, Dave, I’ll go too ! ” cried the 
senator’s son. “ If anything has happened to 


178 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Laura ” He did not finish, but his face 

showed his concern. 

“ Do you want to send any more telegrams ? ” 
questioned the station agent. “ If you don’t, I’ll 
lock up.” 

“ I think I will,” answered Dave. “ They’ll 
want to know whether this telegram was re- 
ceived.” And then, after he and Roger had con- 
sulted for a moment, they sent the following: 

“ Second telegram received. Both too worried 
to remain. Will come East as soon as possible. 

“ Dave and Roger.” 

Having listened to the operator sending the mes- 
sage off, the two young civil engineers lost no time 
in leaping into the saddle and setting off for the 
construction camp. They rode at as rapid a gait 
as possible, and on that stony trail there was but 
little chance for conversation. 

“ It must be the gypsies,” said Roger, when he 
had an opportunity to speak. “ I can’t think of 
anything else.” 

“ The gypsies certainly promised to make trou- 
ble for them,” answered Dave bitterly. “ But to 

go so far as kidnapping Why, Roger! 

that’s a terrible crime in these days! ” 

“ I know it. But don’t you remember what 
they wrote about the gypsies — how that Mother 
Domoza and the others were so very bitter be- 
cause they had to give up their camp on the out- 


BAD NEWS 


179 


skirts of Crumville? More than likely your 
Uncle Dunston, and Mr. Basswood, and Mr. 
Wadsworth, didn’t treat them any too gently, and 
they resented it. Oh, it must be those gypsies 
who have done this ! ” concluded the senator’s son. 

When they arrived at the construction camp, 
they found that most of the men had gone to bed. 
But there was a light burning in the cabin occu- 
pied by Ralph Obray and several of the others, 
and they discovered the manager studying a blue- 
print and putting down a mass of figures on a 
sheet of paper. 

“What do you want?” questioned the man- 
ager, as he noted their excited appearance. 
“ Have you struck more bears?” 

“ No, Mr. Obray. It’s a good deal worse than 
that,” returned Dave, in a tone of voice he tried 
to steady. “ We’ve got bad news from home.” 

“You don’t say, Porter! What is it? I 
hope none of your relatives has died.” 

“ My sister is missing from home, and so is the 
daughter of the lady and gentleman with whom 
my family live,” announced our hero. And then 
he and Roger went into a number of particulars, 
to which the construction camp manager listened 
with much interest. 

“ That certainly is a strange state of affairs,” 
he declared. “ But I don’t see what you can do 
about it.” 


180 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ I can’t stick here at work with my sister and 
Jessie Wadsworth missing,” declared Dave 
boldly. “ I’ve come to ask you to give me a 
leave of absence. I want to take the very first 
train for home.” 

“ But what can you do after you get there, 
Porter? If anything has really gone wrong, you 
can rest assured that your folks and the others 
have notified the authorities and are doing all they 
possibly can.” 

“ That may be true, Mr. Obray, — more than 
likely it is true. Just the same, unless I get word 
by to-morrow morning that they are found or 
that some word has come from them, I want to go 
home and join in the search.” 

“And I want to go with him!” broke out 
Roger. 

“ I might as well explain matters to you, Mr. 
Obray,” said Dave. “ For a number of years 
Jessie Wadsworth and myself have been very close 
friends, and now we have an understanding ” 

“ Oh, I see. That’s the way the wind blows, 
does it?” And the camp manager smiled. 

“ Yes, sir. And the same sort of thing holds 
good between Roger here and my sister Laura. 
That’s the reason he wants to go with me.” 

“ Oh ! ” The construction manager nodded his 
head knowingly. “ I understand. Well, I sup- 


BAD NEWS 181 

pose if I were situated like that, I’d feel just as 
you do.” 

“ Please understand we’re not going away to 
shirk work or anything like that,” declared 
Roger. “ You ought to know me well enough by 
this time, Mr. Obray, to know that I am heart 
and soul in this thing of making a first-class civil 
engineer of myself.” 

“ And that’s just the way I feel about it, too,” 
affirmed Dave. 

“ Oh, I understand. I have been very well 
satisfied so far with the showing both of you 
have made. It has been very creditable. I know 
you haven’t shirked anything.” 

“ Of course, it’s too bad we have got to go right 
on top of having that vacation when our friends 
came to visit us,” was Dave’s comment. 

“ That is true, too, Porter. But some things 
can’t be helped. I take it that you would rather 
know that your sister and that other young lady 
were safe, and stick at work, than you would to 
lay off on account of such an errand as this.” 

“ You’re right there, Mr. Obray! ” 

“ I’d give all I’m worth this minute to know 
that Dave’s sister and Jessie Wadsworth were all 
right! ” burst out the senator’s son. 

“ Well then, if you think you ought to go back 
home, you may do so,” announced Ralph Obray. 


1 82 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ But I sincerely hope that by the time you get 
there this matter will have straightened itself out. 
And if that proves to be true, I shall depend upon 
your coming back immediately.” 

“ We’ll do it,” answered Dave readily. “ We’ll 
come back the very first thing after we find out 
that everything is all right.” And Roger prom- 
ised the same. 

It can easily be imagined that the two chums 
did not sleep much that night. They spent the 
best part of an hour in packing some of their 
belongings and in informing Frank Andrews of 
what had occurred. The head of their gang was 
even more sympathetic than Mr. Obray had been, 
and said he would do anything in his power to 
help them. 

“ I suppose you would like to take the eight 
o’clock morning train East,” he remarked. 

“ That’s our idea,” answered Dave. 

“ Then I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” went on Frank 
Andrews. “ I’ll order up an early breakfast for 
you, and I’ll have old Hixon ride over to the sta- 
tion with you to bring back your horses.” 

And so the matter was arranged. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


ON THE WAY EAST 

“ Well, boys, I certainly wish you luck.” 

It was John Hixon who spoke, as he shook 
hands with Dave and Roger at the railroad sta- 
tion on the following morning. 

As arranged, the party of three had had an early 
breakfast and had lost no time in riding over to 
the railroad station. They had found the train 
half an hour late, and Dave had lost no time 
in sending a telegram to Crumville stating that 
he and Roger were on the way, and asking that 
if there was anything of importance to commu- 
nicate, to send them word either at St. Paul or 
Chicago. 

The two youths had no accommodations on the 
train, which was made up of sleeping-cars, an ob- 
servation-car and a diner. They had made up 
their minds that they would journey on the train 
even if they had to sit up in a smoking compart- 
ment. But the cars proved to be less than three- 
quarters filled, and they had but little trouble in 
obtaining a section. Then they settled down as 
best they could for the long journey to Chicago, 
183 


1 84 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

where, of course, they would have to change for 
the train to the East. They paid for their passage 
only as far as St. Paul, so that they might leave 
the train at that city if a telegram was received 
assuring them that everything was all right. 

“ But I’m afraid we won’t have any such luck, 
Roger,” observed Dave, in speaking of this possi- 
bility. 

“ You can’t tell,” answered the senator’s son 
hopefully. “ It’s just possible that Laura and 
Jessie may have returned home and explained their 
disappearance.” 

“ They’d never stay away so long without send- 
ing some word, I’m certain of that,” answered our 
hero emphatically. “ They are not that kind of 
girls.” 

“ It certainly would seem so, Dave. But you 
must remember they may have sent some kind of 
word, and it may not have been received. They 
may have met some friends, sent a message, and 
gone off on an automobile tour or a motor-boat 
voyage.” 

Dave shook his head. “ It won’t do, Roger. I 
know Laura and Jessie too well. They would 
want to make sure that the folks at home knew 
where they were. And they would send us word 
too. Besides that, they wouldn’t go off on any 
extended trip, such as you mention, unless they had 
permission from my father and Mrs. Wadsworth.” 


ON THE WAY EAST 


185 

All through the morning the two young civil 
engineers discussed the situation from every pos- 
sible angle, but without arriving at any satisfactory 
conclusion. At noon they partook of lunch in the 
dining-car, making this repast last as long as pos- 
sible, “ just to kill time,” as Roger expressed it. 

“ It’s going to be a long-winded trip,” sighed 
the senator’s son, after they had finished their 
meal and had walked back to the end of the 
observation car. 

“ Well, we’ve got to make the best of it, Roger,” 
was Dave’s reply. “ Ordinarily such a trip as 
this would be fine. Think of what grand scenery 
there is to look at! ” and he pointed out with a 
sweep of his hand. 

The long train rumbled onward hour after 
hour, and the two youths passed the time as best 
they could, talking, looking at the scenery, and 
reading the various papers and magazines con- 
tained in the car library. At seven o’clock they 
had dinner, and then sat outside once again until 
it grew so dark that nothing could be seen. 

“ Well, we might as well go to bed,” remarked 
Dave finally. “ Which berth do you want, 
Roger — the upper or the lower?” 

“ It is immaterial to me, Dave,” was the an- 
swer. “ To tell the truth, I don’t think I’m going 
to do much sleeping.” 

“ We’ll toss up for it,” was the answer. And 


1 86 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


the toss of the coin gave Dave the lower berth. 

It proved to be a long, wearisome night for both 
of them. Dave tumbled and tossed on his pil- 
low, trying in a hundred ways to account for the 
mysterious disappearance of his sister and Jessie. 
Were they captives of the gypsies? Or had some 
other dreadful fate overtaken them? Then, at a 
sudden thought, Dave sat up in his berth so quickly 
that he hit his head on the bottom of the berth 
above. 

“ I wonder if it’s possible,” he murmured to 
himself. 

He had suddenly remembered how he had lost 
the two letters from home at the time he had been 
robbed by Nick Jasniff of the contents of his 
pocketbook. If Jasniff had read those letters he 
had learned much about the trouble in Crumville 
with the gypsies, and he had also learned from 
Jessie’s letter that she and Laura were contemplat- 
ing a trip to Boston. 

“ Jasniff is bitter against Mr. Wadsworth for 
having had him sent to prison,” Dave reasoned; 
“ and he is equally bitter against me and my family 
for what I did in capturing him. He took a train 
for the East. Can it be possible that he is mixed 
up in this affair? ” 

This thought sent Dave off on a new chain of 
reasoning, and he became so restless that, instead 
of trying to go to sleep, he pulled up the shade 


ON THE WAY EAST 187 

of one of the windows, propped his pillow close 
against the glass, and lay there thinking and look- 
ing out on the star-lit landscape. But at last tired 
nature asserted itself, and he fell into a fitful doze, 
from which he did not awaken until it was about 
time to get up. 

“ I’ve got a new idea,” he announced to his 
chum, after the two had washed and dressed and 
were on their way to the dining-car for breakfast. 
And thereupon he related his suspicions against 
Jasniff. 

“ It may be so,” mused the senator’s son. “ It 
would be just like that rascal to go in with those 
gypsies and try to do your folks and the Wads- 
worths harm.” 

On the train the two young civil engineers met 
several very agreeable people, but they were in no 
frame of mind to make friends just then. Though 
they did their best to be pleasant, they were glad 
enough when the train, after a stop at Minneapolis, 
finally rolled into the station at St. Paul. Here, 
with only a few minutes to spare, they rushed 
out to the telegraph office. There was a message 
for them, and Dave tore the envelope open eag- 
erly. One glance at the contents, and his face fell. 

“ No news of importance,” he announced. 
“ Come on. We’ll have to go on to Chicago.” 
And then the journey to the great City of the Lakes 
was renewed. 


1 88 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


At Chicago another message awaited them. 
This was a little longer than the other had been, 
but gave them scant satisfaction, reading as fol- 
lows : 

“ Strong suspicions against gypsies who have 
disappeared. Demand for fifty thousand dollars. 

“ Dunston Porter.” 

“ That settles one thing. The girls have been 
kidnapped,” remarked Roger. 

“Yes. And the kidnappers want fifty thou- 
sand dollars,” added Dave. He drew a long 
breath. “ Well, there’s one satisfaction about 
this, Roger. We know the two girls must be 
alive.” 

“ Yes, Dave. But think of them in the hands of 
those dirty gypsies! ” 

“ I can hardly bear to think of it, Roger. I 
wish I had those rascals by the neck! I think I 
could willingly shake the life out of them ! ” 

“ So could I ! But come on, let us see if we can’t 
get on the next train bound for Albany. There is 
no use of our going down to New York City.” 

The chums were fortunate in getting two upper 
berths on a train to leave in less than an hour. 
The run to Albany would take less than twenty- 
four hours, and there they would be able to change 
to a local train running to Crumville. 

On the train a surprise awaited them. They 


ON THE WAY EAST 


189 

ran into two of their old school chums, Buster 
Beggs and Sam Day. Both of these lads were 
fat and full of fun, and, having been close chums 
at school, had gone into business together in the 
city. 

“ We’re in the book and stationery line,” an- 
nounced Buster Beggs, after a cordial handshak- 
ing all around. “ We’re doing fine, too. Aren’t 
we, Sam? But say, I thought you fellows were 
learning to be civil engineers and were away out 
West.” 

“ We have been out West,” answered Dave. 
“ But we are going home on a special errand just 
now.” And then there was nothing to do but to 
acquaint Buster and Sam with what had occurred. 

“ You don’t mean it! ” burst out Buster in ex- 
citement. “ Why, that reads like a regular old- 
fashioned novel ! ” 

“ I thought kidnappings like that were a thing 
of the past,” was Sam Day’s comment. “ I cer- 
tainly hope you round up those gypsies and rescue 
the girls.” 

“ We’ll do it or else know the reason why,” an- 
swered Roger determinedly. 

From Buster and Sam the two young civil engi- 
neers learned much concerning a number of their 
other school chums. In return, they told a great 
deal about themselves; and thus the hours passed 
a little more quickly than they would otherwise 


i 9 o DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

have done. The four former Oak Hall students 
dined together, and managed to make an exchange 
of berths with some others on the train, so that 
they were all together in opposite sections that 
night. 

“ We’re certainly getting some touches of old 
times,” remarked Dave. “ First Phil, Ben, and 
Shadow, and now you two ! ” 

“ I’ll tell you what — we ought to organize that 
Oak Hall club we once talked about,” said Buster 
Beggs. “ Then we could hold a reunion once a 
year.” 

“ It certainly would be fine,” answered Roger, 
his eyes lighting up with pleasure. “ We’ll have 
to remember that, Dave.” And to this our hero 
nodded approval. 

Buster and Sam left the train at Utica, while 
the two young civil engineers continued on their 
way to Albany. Here they had a wait of an hour 
and a half, and during that time they purchased 
a couple of newspapers. 

“ Hello, here’s an account of the affair now! ” 
cried Roger, pointing to the top of one of the 
pages. 

There was an account nearly a column long, tell- 
ing of how a search was being instituted for the 
missing girls and how it was supposed that a de- 
mand for money had been made upon Mr. Wads- 
worth and Mr. Porter. It was added that neither 


ON THE WAY EAST 191 

of the gentlemen would affirm or deny the re- 
port. 

“ That looks to me as if they were warned 
to keep quiet about the demand for money,” an- 
nounced Dave. 

“ Possibly they were told that if they did not 
keep quiet something would happen to the girls,” 
added Roger. He closed his teeth with a snap. 
“ Oh, I just wish I had my hands on those ras- 
cals !” 

“ It’s maddening, isn’t it, Roger, to stand around 
here and not be able to do anything?” groaned 
Dave. In his mind’s eye he could picture the mis- 
ery endured by Jessie and his sister while they 
were being held captives. 

At last the train for Crumville came in, and they 
lost no time in jumping on board. 

“ Thank heaven, we are on the last leg of this 
journey! ” breathed Roger, as they settled down 
in a seat. 

“ Right you are, Roger! ” answered Dave. 

But then their faces grew exceedingly thought- 
ful. What dire news might await them at their 
journey’s end? 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 

“ Oh, what shall we do — what shall we do? ” 

It was Mrs. Wadsworth who uttered the words. 
She sat in the luxuriously furnished living room of 
the Wadsworth mansion, wringing her hands 
while the tears stood on her cheeks. In front of 
her was the rich jewelry manufacturer, pacing up 
and down and biting his lip in deep thought. 

“ Don’t take it so hard, Alice, my dear,” said 
the husband in a husky voice. “ It’ll come out all 
right — I am sure it will.” 

“ But, Oliver, I am so frightened! Think of 
those poor girls in the hands of those awful gypsies 
— or somebody just as bad, or worse ! It’s dread- 
ful ! I can’t bear to think of it ! ” and Mrs. Wads- 
worth’s tears began to flow afresh. 

In a corner of the library sat old Caspar Potts, 
white-haired and with eyes that were no longer 
bright. The professor’s head was shaking from 
side to side. 

“ I wish Davy were here,” he quavered. “ I’m 
sure that boy could do something.” 

“ He has telegraphed that he is on the way, 

192 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 193 

along with Roger Morr,” said Mr. Wadsworth. 

“Good! Good! He’ll do something — I 
know he will ! Davy is a great boy ! ” and the old 
professor nodded his head vigorously. Ever since 
he had taken our hero from the poorhouse years 
before, Dave had been the very apple of his eye. 

Oliver Wadsworth walked to a writing-table, 
and from one of the compartments drew a much- 
rumpled sheet of paper, which had come to him in 
a dirty envelope several days before. The en- 
velope had been post-marked, “ Halwick,” the 
name of a town about thirty miles away. 

“ What are you going to do about that demand 
for money? ” questioned Mrs. Wadsworth, as she 
watched her husband peruse the note — something 
he had done a great number of times. 

“ I don’t know,” he answered helplessly. “ We 
have been given at least ten days in which to raise 
it, so there is no great hurry about deciding the 
question.” 

“ Is Mr. Porter in favor of meeting the de- 
mand? ” 

“ He is like myself, he doesn’t know what to do. 
He and Dunston Porter are both of the opinion 
that this demand for fifty thousand dollars may 
be just the forerunner of other demands. They 
may want every cent all of us are worth before 
they give the two girls up,” added the jewelry man- 
ufacturer. 


194 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ But, Oliver! if you don’t give them the 
money ” 

“ I know, I know, Alice. We’ll have to fix it 
up somehow,” answered the husband hastily. 
Then he sat down beside her and put his arm 
around her shoulder. “ Please don’t worry so. I 
am sure we’ll be able to fix this matter up some- 
how sooner or later, and that the girls will come 
back safely.” 

“ Oh, I wish I could believe you ! ” burst out the 
distressed woman. And then, unable to control 
herself longer, she burst into a passionate fit of 
weeping, and betook herself away to her bed- 
room. 

From outside came the sound of an automobile 
rolling along the gravel roadway, and looking 
from a window the manufacturer saw Dave’s 
father alight, followed by Dunston Porter. Both 
showed signs of weariness, and the look on the face 
of each betokened keen disappointment. 

“Any success?” demanded the jewelry manu- 
facturer quickly, as the pair entered the house. 

“ Nothing worth speaking about,” answered 
Dunston Porter. “We hired another detective 
and sent him off to Halwick.” 

“ The authorities have no news whatever,” 
added Dave’s father. “ They have received tele- 
grams from all the large cities within three hun- 
dred miles of this place, and not a trace of the 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 


195 

girls has come to light. They claim that it’s the 
strangest disappearance on record.” 

“ But this demand for money ” began Oli- 

ver Wadsworth. 

“ Yes, they are trying to sift that out, too. But 
they don’t seem to be able to get anywhere with 
it. They have advised that you continue to keep 
quiet about it, and they said they would keep quiet, 
too. Nevertheless, I think the news has leaked 
out somehow.” 

“ Let me see that letter again,” said Dunston 
Porter, and perused the communication as carefully 
as the jewelry manufacturer had done. It was 
written in heavy lead pencil in evidently a disguised 
hand, and was as follows : 

“The to girls Jessie Wadsworth and Laura 
Porter are safe in our hands. We will take good 
care of them but you wil haf to pay the price and 
do it inside of ten days or two weeks at longest. 
We mean busines So no funy work. We want 
fifty thousand dollars from you Mr. Wadsworth 
and from them Porters. Each of you can pay 
as much of the amount as you plese. We want 
the money in cash and wil send you word just 
were it is to be placed and at what time. If you 
fale us you will be mighty sory for we mean 
busines. Dont make no mistak about that. If 
you pay the money as we want the girls will be 
back home safe inside of two days and not a hare 
of there head harmed. Now take warning for 
we mean busines and wont stand for no nonsence.” 


196 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ This was- either written by a very illiterate 
person or else by somebody who tried to make 
out he was such,” was Dunston Porter’s comment. 

“ I think it is just such a letter as one of those 
young gypsies might write,” answered Dave’s 
father. “ Most of them have some education, but 
not a great deal.” 

Both Mr. Wadsworth and Dave’s father had 
had a great deal of business to attend to during 
the past few weeks, and Dunston Porter had been 
kept busy assisting Mr. Basswood in turning the 
vacant land on the outskirts of Crumville into 
building plots and offering them for sale. But 
since the unexpected and mysterious disappearance 
of the two girls all thoughts of business had been 
brushed aside. 

“ Dave and Roger ought to be here almost any 
time now,” remarked Dunston Porter. “ But 
what good their coming on the scene is going to 
do, I can’t surmise.” 

“ You can’t blame them for wanting to come 
after receiving such news,” remarked Mr. Wads- 
worth. “ Dave, I know, thinks a great deal of 
his sister, and you all know that he and Jessie think 
a great deal of each other.” 

“ Yes. And I know that Roger has his eye on 
Laura,” answered the girl’s father. “ And she 
thinks a great deal of the young man.” 

At that moment the telephone rang, and Duns- 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 197 

ton Porter went to answer it. A telegram was 
telephoned to him. 

“ Dave and Roger are now on their way from 
Albany,” he announced. “ They will be here in 
about an hour. I think I’ll run down to the depot 
in the auto and meet them.” And so it was ar- 
ranged. 

There were no passengers as eager as Dave and 
Roger to leave the train when it rolled into the lit- 
tle station at Crumville. Dunston Porter was on 
hand, and they gazed eagerly at his face to see if 
it bore any signs of good news. 

“ No, I’ve got nothing to cheer you with,” he 
announced, after shaking hands and conducting 
them to the auto, into the tonneau of which they 
pitched their suit-cases. “ We haven’t the least 
idea where they are or how they disappeared.” 

“ But, Uncle Dunston, you must have some 
news l ” pleaded Dave. 

“ At least you can tell us how and when they 
left home and what was the last word you had 
from them,” said Roger. 

“ They made up their minds to go to Boston to 
visit Jessie’s aunt, Mrs. Brightling, just about two 
weeks ago,” answered Dave’s uncle. “ They 
spent two or three days in getting ready; and 
then a week ago this Wednesday they started on 
the trip, Mrs. Wadsworth and the chauffeur tak- 
ing them down to the depot. They carried one 


i 9 8 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

trunk, which was checked through to Boston, and 
Laura had a suit-case, and both of the girls had 
hand-bags. They had through tickets to Boston, 
and got on the train; and that was the last we saw 
or heard of them. 

“ We had expected to get a letter from Laura, 
and the Wadsworths expected a letter from Jes- 
sie, stating that they had arrived safely. When 
no letters came, Mrs. Wadsworth got nervous, 
and as a result she asked her husband to send a 
telegram to find out what was wrong. 

“ The telegram had just been sent when a tele- 
gram was received from Mrs. Brightling, asking 
how it was that the girls had not come on as ex- 
pected. Then she telegraphed a little later that 
she had not seen them nor heard from them. 

“ A search was made at the depot in Boston, 
and the trunk was found just as it had been 
checked from here. The suit-case the girls had 
kept with them on the train.” 

“ But didn’t they meet anybody on the train 
who knew them? ” questioned Dave. 

“ No one that we have heard from up to the 
present time. We have been making a number 
of inquiries, and, of course, expect to make more. 
You see, the people they met on the train were 
going away from Crumville, so that makes it diffi- 
cult to follow them up. And besides that, so 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 


199 


much time was lost in the first place, that I sup- 
pose a good many people would forget, even if 
they had seen them on the train.” 

“But didn’t they have parlor-car chairs?” 
questioned Dave. 

“ No. The train had only one parlor car on it, 
and that was crowded. Mr. Wadsworth had tele- 
graphed for seats, but there had been some mix- 
up, and as a consequence the girls had to put up 
with seats in one of the day coaches. Mrs. Wads- 
worth told them they had better wait for another 
train, but they laughed and said that they would 
rather go into one of the day coaches than lose the 
time.” 

During this conversation Dunston Porter had 
started up the automobile and was on the way to 
the Wadsworth mansion. In a few minutes more 
they rolled up to the piazza, and there Dave’s 
father and Mr. Wadsworth came out to greet 
them, followed by the trembling form of Profes- 
sor Potts. 

It was a sorry home-coming for our hero, and 
Roger was equally affected. They shook hands 
with those who were there to greet them, and for 
the moment the emotions of all were so deep 
that nobody trusted himself to speak. All went 
inside, and it was old Caspar Potts who broke the 
silence. 


200 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

u If I were only a younger man ! ” he said in a 
trembling voice. “ Davy, it’s up to you to do 
something — you and your friend Roger.” 

“ I’m going to do it if I possibly can, Profes- 
sor,” answered the youth, huskily. 

All sat down and the Crumville folks gave to 
the young civil engineers all the particulars they 
had concerning the strange disappearance of the 
two girls. 

“ And are you quite sure it is the work of those 
gypsies? ” queried Roger. 

“ I don’t see who else would play such a dirty 
trick,” responded Mr. Wadsworth. 

“ Dave has another idea,” went on the senator’s 
son. 

“What is that?” asked Dunston Porter 
quickly, while the others looked up questioningly. 

“ I’ve been wondering if Nick Jasniff wasn’t 
connected with this affair,” answered Dave. 

“ Nick Jasniff! ” exclaimed Oliver Wadsworth. 
“ You mean the fellow I helped to put in prison? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ What makes you think he could have had any- 
thing to do with it? ” 

“ I’ll tell you,” answered our hero. And there- 
upon he related how he and Roger had first seen 
Nick Jasniff in the vicinity of the construction 
camp, and how, later on, he had been instrumental 
in having Jasniff sent away from the camp, and 


THE DEMAND FOR MONEY 


201 


then how he had met the rascal on the road, had 
a fight, and lost the two letters and the contents 
of his pocketbook. 

“ I ought to have written about this, but I didn’t 
want to worry you folks too much,” he concluded. 

“ Dave, you may have struck the truth! ” burst 
out Mr. Wadsworth excitedly. “ It would be just 
like that rascal to do such a thing as this. And 
besides that, you must remember one thing — Jas- 
niff was not pardoned.” 

“Not pardoned!” burst out our hero and 
Roger simultaneously. 

“ No, he was not pardoned,” answered the 
jewelry manufacturer. “ His case came up be- 
fore the Board of Pardons, and after a hearing 
they recommended a pardon for him to the gov- 
ernor. But before the governor signed the order 
to let him go, Jasniff made his escape from the. 
prison and ran away. Then, of course, the rec- 
ommendation for a pardon was torn up and 
thrown in the waste-basket; so if the fellow is 
ever captured he can go back to prison and serve 
his term over again.” 


CHAPTER XX 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 

“ Well, what do you know about that! ” cried 
Roger. 

“ No wonder Nick Jasniff wanted to leave the 
vicinity of the construction camp,” remarked 
Dave. “ He must have reasoned that sooner or 
later we would learn that he hadn’t been pardoned 
and was wanted at the prison.” 

“ That must be it,” answered the senator’s son. 

“ If this Nick Jasniff is interested in the affair, 
we want to know it,” said Mr. Wadsworth. “ I 
shall at once give the authorities the particu- 
lars of Jasniff’s doings, so that they can go on the 
hunt for him. They have his picture in the 
Rogues’ Gallery, and that can be copied and cir- 
culated, so that the authorities in different Cities, 
and especially in this vicinity, can be on the look- 
out for him.” 

“ But why weren’t the authorities on the look- 
out for him before? ” questioned our hero. 

“ They were at first. But then they got word 
that Jasniff had sailed for some port in South 
202 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 203 

America, so they gave it up. Evidently the re- 
port was a false one.” 

“ Yes, and probably circulated by Nick Jasniff 
himself,” added Roger. 

“ Of course you have been over to Coburntown, 
where the gypsies went after they left here,” re- 
marked Dave. 

“ We have been all around that territory,” an- 
swered his Uncle Dunston. “ The gypsies have 
disappeared entirely, one report stating that they 
were bound south. I had them stopped at a town 
about fifty miles away, and those in the camp were 
closely questioned. They said that Mother Dom- 
oza had been left behind on account of sickness, 
and that two gypsies, one named Tony Bopeppo, 
and the other Carlos Vazala, had remained with 
her to take care of her. They said the three were 
to go to another gypsy camp some twenty or thirty 
miles away. But at that camp it was said that 
they knew nothing about the old hag and her fol- 
lowers.” 

“Were the two gypsies, Bopeppo and Vazala, 
the two with whom you had trouble about the 
land?” questioned Roger. 

“ Yes, they were the leaders in the quarrel,” 
answered Dunston Porter. “ Bopeppo was par- 
ticularly furious, and one day threatened to strike 
Mr. Basswood. I stopped him, and told him if 
he didn’t behave himself I’d have him placed under 


204 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

arrest. Vazala was also very vindictive, he as- 
serting, along with Mother Domoza, that they 
had the right to occupy the land as long as they 
pleased.” 

“ Then it is more than likely that Bopeppo and 
Vazala, assisted by Mother Domoza and perhaps 
by Nick Jasniff, are guilty of this kidnapping,” 
went on our hero. 

“ We had figured it out that way — of course 
leaving out Jasniff.” 

“ Have you any sample of the handwriting of 
Bopeppo or Vazala?” asked Roger. “If you 
have you might compare them with the note sent 
to Mr. Wadsworth.” 

“ We have managed to get one note written by 
Bopeppo, and we have two samples of Vazala’s 
signature. But neither of them seem to be in 
the handwriting used in the note,” answered 
Dave’s father. 

“ Then it would seem as if the note had been 
written by somebody else I ” cried Dave. “ How 
about Mother Domoza? ” 

“ We don’t believe the old hag can read or write 
English.” 

“ I’d like to see the note,” said Roger. There- 
upon the communication was brought forth and 
the two young civil engineers scanned it very 
closely. 

“ I wish I could remember Nick Jasniff’s hand- 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 205 

writing, but I can’t,” said Roger. “ How about 
it, Dave? ” 

“ If my memory serves me, he wrote rather a 
heavy hand,” answered our hero. “ But I am not 
willing to say whether this is in his style or not. 
This looks to me as if it was a disguised hand, 
for it is very irregular.” 

“We all thought the handwriting was dis- 
guised,” answered Mr. Wadsworth. He heaved 
a deep sigh. “ Too bad! All this talk doesn’t 
seem to get us anywhere.” 

“ Well, one thing is certain,” said Dave. 
“ The girls got on board that train, and the train 
went to Boston, making all of its usual stops. In 
that case, they must have gotten off at one of the 
stop stations, — that is, unless the train made some 
other stops which were not scheduled.” 

“We have found out that the train did make 
a number of other stops,” answered his father. 
“ Shortly after it left Hemston they discovered a 
hot box, and they had to stop four times on the 
way to fix that — twice near some water tanks, and 
twice at some cross-road signal towers. As a con- 
sequence of the delay, the train was also held up 
at two little way stations to let two express trains 
pass, and did not get into Boston until nearly two 
hours behind its regular time.” 

“ Have you got a list of all those stopping 
places? ” questioned Roger. 


206 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ We have.” 

“ Then I know what I’m going to do,” cried 
Dave. “ I’ll take the automobile and go along 
the line of the railroad and stop at every one of 
those places and make inquiries, and see if we can’t 
find out whether the girls left the train, or if they 
were met by the gypsies, or anybody else.” 

“ I’ve already been along the line, Dave,” an- 
swered his father. “ Your uncle and I went over 
the route, not by automobile but by a way train, 
and we made inquiries at every station; but with- 
out the least success.” 

“ Yes, but the train couldn’t have stopped long 
enough for you to ask many questions,” put in 
Roger. 

“ That is true,” returned Dave’s parent slowly. 
“ Probably you would have a better chance of get- 
ting some particulars if you went along the route 
in the automobile. Of course it would take con- 
siderable time — several days in fact — to follow 
the route in that manner all the way into Boston.” 

“ It’s the only thing I can think of to do,” an- 
swered Dave. “ And it will be much better than 
sitting here and doing nothing.” 

“ Right you are ! ” cried Roger. “ I’m willing 
to start this minute if you say so,” and he jumped 
to his feet. 

“ I don’t think you can do much to-day, — it is 
too late,” answered Mr. Wadsworth. “ But you 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 207 

might get ready for a start early to-morrow morn- 
ing,” and he looked rather hopefully at the two 
young civil engineers. 

“ We’ll do it! ” answered Dave. 

After that the discussion became general, and 
our hero and his chum got all the particulars pos- 
sible concerning the stops the train upon which 
Jessie and Laura had taken passage had made on 
its trip to the Hub. They put all these names and 
locations down on a sort of map that they drew 
up, and then consulted an automobile Blue-Book, 
so that they might get familiar with the roads to 
be taken "on their tour. 

“ This is certainly going to be some search, 
Dave,” remarked Roger, after the conference had 
come to an end and the two chums had gone up- 
stairs to fix up for dinner. 

“ I know it, Roger. It will probably take us 
several days, and maybe a week. But I won’t 
mind that, and neither will you, if only we learn 
something of advantage.” 

It was a quiet party that sat down to the table 
that evening in the large dining room of the Wads- 
worth mansion. In a voice that trembled more 
than usual with emotion, old Professor Potts asked 
a blessing on the meal, and the repast was well 
on its way before anyone felt like talking. Then 
Roger questioned Mr. Wadsworth concerning the 
automobile to be taken for the trip. 


208 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ I think you had better take the four-passenger 
car,’* announced the jewelry manufacturer. 
“ That will leave us the large car in case we need 
it. The smaller car is in just as good a condi- 
tion and is just as speedy.” 

“ We’ll look over the car as soon as we have 
finished eating,” said Dave. “ I want everything 
to be in the best of order, so that we shall not be 
delayed by any breakdown. Of course, we’ll 
carry along an extra shoe or two, and three or 
four inner tubes.” 

The two chums had already decided on what 
they were to wear on the trip and what to take 
along in the way of extra clothing. They spent 
the entire evening in going over the four-passen- 
ger car, and, with the aid of the Wadsworth chauf- 
feur, put the machine in the best possible order, 
and then filled it up with oil and gasoline. 

“ Oh, boys, you’ll do your best to find them? ” 
said Mrs. Wadsworth, when they came in rather 
late and were ready to retire. 

“ You can rest assured of that, Mrs. Wads- 
worth,” answered Dave. 

“ We won’t give up until we have found them, 
or found out something about them,” broke in 
Roger. And then the lady kissed each of them 
affectionately. The strain had been terrible, and 
she looked ten years older than usual. 

Dave and Roger had expected that no one 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 209 

would be around when they were ready to depart 
in the morning, for it was but a little after sun- 
rise. But in this they were mistaken. Both 
Dave’s father and his Uncle Dunston had come 
down to see them off. 

“ I want to caution you about one thing,” said 
Dave’s parent. “ You take care of yourselves, 
and if you do chance to run into those gypsies, or 
anybody else who has any connection with this 
crime, do your best to keep out of trouble.” 

“ We’ll be on our guard, Dad, don’t fear,” an- 
swered the son. 

“ Of course you are armed? ” questioned Duns- 
ton Porter. 

“ Yes, we’ve each got a pistol, and Dave’s shot- 
gun is under the back seat,” answered Roger. 
“ You see, we weren’t going to take any chances,” 
and he smiled grimly. 

“ If you discover anything at all, send us word 
at once,” went on Dave’s father. “ Use the tele- 
graph or the telephone — whichever is handiest.” 

“ You can depend on it we will,” said Dave. 

“ And don’t forget that we want to hear from 
you folks here in Crumville if you hear anything,” 
added Roger. “ You can send a message to any 
of the railroad stations along the line. We’ll 
stop at each station and ask for messages.” 

Dave was at the wheel of the car, with Roger 
alongside of him. In the back the two had their 


2io DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


suit-cases, and also a number of wraps and a ham- 
per filled with lunch, for there was no telling where 
they could stop along the road for something to 
eat. 

With scarcely an effort, the touring-car rolled 
away from the Wadsworth mansion, the men left 
behind waving their hands to the two on board. 
They waved in return, and a moment later the ma- 
chine left the grounds, headed for the Crumville 
railroad station. This was soon passed, and they 
took the highway leading to the next station on the 
line; and thus the great search was begun. 

The first place they reached was a small way- 
station, and they soon learned that the particular 
train Laura and Jessie had taken had not stopped 
there for a month or more. The station master 
had, however, heard about the kidnapping, and 
was anxious to hear more. But Dave and Roger 
did not waste time on him. 

In the course of the next couple of hours, they 
stopped at six more stations, and made various in- 
quiries. The train had stopped at just one of 
these places, but the station agent was positive 
that only two of the local residents had gotten on 
board, and no one but a drummer from the city 
had alighted. 

The way to the next station was up a long hill, 
and near the top Dave had to bring the car to a 
sudden halt. The regular road was being re- 


BEGINNING THE GREAT SEARCH 21 1 


paired, and a sign was up showing where a detour 
might be made. 

“ That side-road doesn’t look very inviting,” 
was our hero’s comment, as he surveyed it. 

“ Oh, it must be all right,” answered Roger. 
“ If it were not, they wouldn’t have that sign up.” 

They proceeded on their w r ay, and soon found 
the side road both rough and uncertain. They 
had some difficulty in getting to the bottom of the 
hill, and here they had to make a sharp turn to 
the left in an endeavor to get back to the main 
highway. 

“ Look out for the puddles, Dave ! ” cried the 
senator’s son, as they splashed into one pool of 
water. 

Dave did what he could to keep out of the next 
puddle, and in doing this ran pretty well off to one 
side of the roadway. The next instant he found 
himself in mud almost up to the hubs, and here the 
car threatened to come to a standstill. He imme- 
diately threw the gear into second, and then into 
low, and thus they chugged on for a distance of ten 
or twelve feet farther. Then the car came to a 
sudden standstill. 

“ Stuck? ” remarked Roger laconically. 

u So it would seem,” answered Dave. 


CHAPTER XXI 


STUCK ON THE ROAD 

Twice Dave tried to back the car and then go 
ahead, but without avail. The machine settled 
down still farther in the mud of the road, and there 
it stuck. 

“ Now what are we going to do? ” demanded 
the senator’s son, impatiently. 

“ I don’t know, Roger,” was the slow reply. 
“We’ve got to do something — we can’t stay in 
this mud-puddle all day.” 

“ It’s an outrage that they marked this road for 
a detour,” continued Roger. “ Why, a team of 
horses would have all they could do to get through 
such a spot as this ! ” 

“ I guess I’ll have to get out for help,” said 
Dave. “ Too bad ! To think of getting stuck in- 
side of three hours after leaving home ! ” and he 
made a grimace. 

There was no help for it, and, reaching over into 
the tonneau of the car, Dave got out a pair of rub- 
bers and put them on; and Roger did the same. 
Then both leaped out of the car and made their 
way to where the footing was fairly firm. 

212 


STUCK ON THE ROAD 213 

“ The road seems to be pretty good farther on,” 
announced our hero, after an examination. “ But 
I’m afraid we’ll have to get somebody with a team 
of horses or oxen to pull us out of that hole. The 
car will never do it under its own power.” 

They walked on, and presently came in sight of 
a farm nestling in a small valley beyond the hill. 
They walked up to this, and found a farmer in the 
barnyard, cleaning the mud from one of his horses. 

“Well, gentlemen, what can I do for you?” 
hailed the man, as they walked up. 

“ I guess we got here just in time,” returned 
Dave. “ There’s no use in finishing that cleaning 
until you’ve done a little job for us.” 

“Eh? What’s that?” demanded the farmer 
curiously. 

The chums explained the situation, and the 
farmer, whose name was Rawson, readily agreed 
to take two of his horses and the necessary tackle 
and assist them in getting the automobile out of 
the mud. In less than ten minutes the three were 
on their way to where the car was stalled. Mr. 
Rawson went to work quickly and with a precision 
that showed he knew exactly what he was doing. 

“ As soon as I give the word, you turn on your 
power and throw her into low gear,” he said. “ I 
think we’ll have you out of this in a jiffy.” 

And so it proved, the car coming up from the 
mud by the combined power of itself and the horses 


214 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

with hardly an effort. Then the team was un- 
hooked, and Dave ran the car along the highway to 
where the farmer said farther traveling would be 
perfectly safe. 

“ By the way, we are on a rather peculiar errand 
around here,” said Dave, after he had settled for 
the farmer’s services. “ May I ask if you have 
seen any gypsies in this vicinity during the last 
couple of weeks? ” 

“ I don’t know about their being gypsies,” an- 
swered Mr. Rawson. “ I had some trouble with 
a couple of tramps who robbed my chicken-coop 
about ten days or two weeks ago. I found they 
had been camping out in one of our sheds down in 
the woods. They wore bandana neckerchiefs and 
bright-colored vests.” 

“ That sounds as if they were gypsies! What 
became of them? ” 

“ I can’t tell you about that. You see, one night 
we lost two of the chickens, and so I set a watch, 
and the next night I saw these two fellows sneaking 
up toward the house. I had my shotgun, and 
asked them what they wanted, and both of them 
dived out of sight behind some bushes and then ran 
for the woods. I followed them as far as the 
shed, and after that I lost track of them, and I’ve 
never seen them since. The next day I went down 
to the shed, thinking they might be hanging around 



“I THINK WE’LL HAVE YOU OUT OF THIS IN A JIFFY. ” — Page 213 
























■ 










STUCK ON THE ROAD 


215 


somewhere, and there I saw they had been camp- 
ing out in the shed, and saw where they had 
cooked the chickens and eaten them.” 

“ That sounds pretty interesting,” said Dave. 
“ But I hardly think those fellows could have been 
the men we are looking for. The gypsies we are 
trying to spot must have had some money, and I 
don’t think they would camp out in that shed you 
mention. However, I’m going to remember it,” 
he added. 

The chums questioned the farmer further, but 
got very little satisfaction. Then the journey in 
the automobile was resumed. 

“ What makes you think those fellows could not 
have been Bopeppo and Vazala?” questioned 
Roger, when they were once again speeding along 
the highway. 

“ I think this kidnapping was conducted in a 
much more high-toned fashion — if you can call 
it that, Roger. Those gypsies who used to camp 
on the outskirts of Crumville were far from poor. 
In fact, I have an idea that old Mother Domoza 
is really wealthy.” 

“ What! Wealthy, and live like that? ” 

“ Exactly. I think she’s a first-class miser. A 
good many of the gypsies are — especially the 
older ones. They pretend to be very poor, but 
they own all sorts of jewelry, precious stones, and, 


216 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


very often, quantities of gold coin. They won’t 
trust the banks, but carry the stuff around their 
person, or else bury it somewhere.” 

“ But these fellows might have been frightened 
over something, and gone into hiding on that ac- 
count,” suggested Roger. 

“ That may be — and I don’t intend to forget 
what Mr. Rawson said,” answered Dave. “ It’s 
also possible that those two fellows may have been 
just hangers-on, who helped Bopeppo, Vazala and 
Mother Domoza, and maybe Nick Jasniff, to com- 
mit the crime.” 

By noon the chums had stopped at one more 
way station, and also at one of the water tanks 
near where the hot box on the train had been dis- 
covered. They went up and interviewed the man 
in charge of the tank, but he could give them no 
satisfaction. 

“ I can’t tell you who left the train or who got 
on board,” he said. “ I went down to look at the 
hot box along with the engineer, and I helped him 
get some water, and I didn’t pay much attention 
to anything else.” 

“ Have you seen any fellows around here who 
look like gypsies? ” questioned Dave. 

“ Yes. I saw a couple of that class of men 
walking up the track either the day before that 
train came along or the day after. I’ve been try- 
ing to make up my mind which day it was since I 


STUCK ON THE ROAD 217 

read about this kidnapping, but I can’t say for 
sure.” 

Leaving the vicinity of the water tank, the 
chums continued along the highway which ran 
within sight of the railroad. Reaching a con- 
venient spot in the shade of a big tree, and where 
there was a spring and a watering trough, they 
came to a halt and there enjoyed a portion of the 
lunch they had brought along, washing it down 
with a drink of pure, cold water. 

“ Well, we haven’t learned anything yet that is 
worth while,” remarked Roger, during the course 
of the meal. 

“ I didn’t expect it was going to be any easy 
kind of a job,” Dave replied. “ Even if we get 
the slightest kind of clue to this mystery, Roger, 
we can think ourselves lucky.” 

“ Oh, I know that.” 

During the afternoon they stopped at five other 
places, putting to the people they met the ques- 
tions which they had been asking all along the line. 
In every instance, however, no one could give 
them any information, although most of the men 
and women were very anxious to learn if anything 
had been heard of the missing girls. 

“ I hope those kidnappers are caught,” said one 
of the men at the last station at which they 
stopped. “ They are not fit to be at large.” 

“They ought to be hung! ” declared his wife 


218 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


emphatically. “ Why, since I heard about the dis- 
appearance of those two girls, I haven’t dared to 
let my little girl and boy leave the house! It’s 
terrible ! I do so hope they catch those rascals 
and punish them well ! ” 

Evening found the chums at the town of Ches- 
leyville, and here, as there was a fairly good hotel, 
they resolved to remain for the night. They 
drove around to the hotel and left the car in the 
garage attached to the hostelry, and then made ar- 
rangements for a room and meals. They had 
supper, and then Dave suggested that they take a 
walk down to the railroad station and in the 
vicinity of the freight yard. 

“ I don’t know whether we’ll learn anything or 
not, but we can’t afford to miss any chances,” was 
the way he expressed himself. 

“That’s the talk! ” cried Roger. “We don’t 
want anything to get away from us.” 

They had quite a talk with the station agent and 
a number of others, including a young fellow who 
had charge of a news-stand. 

“ I’ve seen pictures of those girls who were 
kidnapped,” declared the youth, “ and unless I am 
greatly mistaken, one of them — the taller of the 
two — bought a magazine and a weekly from 
me. 

This was interesting information, and the two 
lost no time in questioning the youth closely. He 


STUCK ON THE ROAD 


219 


described the taller of the two girls, telling how 
she had been dressed and what sort of hat she had 
worn. The description of the suit and the head 
covering tallied closely with what Mrs. Wads- 
worth had said Laura had worn. 

“What did she buy — do you remember 
that?” questioned Roger. And thereupon the 
news vendor mentioned a popular monthly maga- 
zine and an equally popular weekly. 

“ And you saw the other girl? ” asked Dave. 

“ Yes, at the car window. She didn’t get out, 
but the other girl went to the open window and 
asked her what she wanted, and then she came 
back and got the weekly. That was after she had 
bought the magazine. She dropped her hand- 
bag and had to turn around to pick it up, and 
that’s how I came to notice her.” 

This was all the youth could tell, but it was 
something, and the chums returned to the hotel 
in a thoughtful mood. 

“If that really was Laura, and if the girl in 
the car was Jessie, then that proves one thing,” 
remarked Dave. “ They weren’t kidnapped any- 
where between here and Crumville.” 

“ And that means that it did happen somewhere 
between here and Boston,” added Roger. “ But, 
gracious, Dave ! it’s a long way from here to that 
city! ” 

Neither of the young civil engineers felt in the 


220 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


humor for retiring early, so they passed into the 
reading-room of the hotel, to glance at one or two 
of the newspapers. Dave was perusing an article 
in reference to the disappearance of the girls, and 
Roger was deep in some news from Washington 
which affected his father, when both were startled 
by an exclamation made by some one who had 
stepped from the outside to a broad window which 
opened upon a veranda of the hotel. 

“ Who was that? ” asked Roger, as he looked 
up just in time to see somebody disappearing from 
view. 

“ I don’t know, I’m sure,” answered Dave. 

Struck by the peculiarity of the movement which 
had taken place, both walked over to the window 
and looked outside. Here all was in semi-dark- 
ness, the only light coming from the hotel and a 
small street lamp some distance away. They saw 
the figure of a young man hurrying down the 
street, and as the individual passed under the 
street light, he pulled up the collar of his coat and 
pulled down the soft hat he wore. 

“ Whoever he was, he got out in a mighty 
hurry,” was Roger’s comment. 

To this Dave did not answer. He was won- 
dering who the strange individual could be. 


CHAPTER XXII 


the first clue 

“ Did you see his face at all, Dave? ” 

“ No. Did you? ” 

“ Not at all. He left the window so quickly I 
didn’t catch more than a glance of the side of his 
body.” 

“ He certainly left in a mighty hurry,” mused 
our hero. 

“ Dave, do you imagine it might have been 
Nick Jasniff ? ” asked the senator’s son excitedly. 

“ I thought of that, Roger. As the fellow 
passed under that lamp-post his form looked 
something like Jasniff ’s. But that is rather a wild 
guess — a good many fellows might possess his 
general make-up.” 

The two chums went back to their newspapers, 
and half an hour later they retired to their room. 
Both arose early, thinking to look over the auto- 
mobile before breakfast, so that they might be 
ready to start off immediately after eating. 
When they reached the hotel garage, they found 
the colored man who was in charge very much ex- 
cited. 


221 


222 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ You gemmen didn’t send nobody down here 
to get your car, did you? ” he questioned quickly. 

“ We certainly did not ! ” cried Dave. 

“ Has any one been here to get the car? ” ques- 
tioned the senator’s son. 

“ A young fellow was here at your machine,” 
answered the colored man. “ I jest stepped over 
to the hotel to ask the clerk to order some more 
gasoline, we runnin’ short. When I came back 
the fellow was at your car. I thought at first it 
was one of you gemmen, but as soon as I called to 
him he jumped from the car and went out the 
back door.” 

“ How long ago was this? ” burst out Dave. 

“ Not over five minutes ago, boss. I called to 
the fellow and ran after him, but he jumped over 
the back fence and got away.” 

“ Was he a tall young fellow with a soft hat? ” 
queried Roger. 

“ He was.” 

“ He must have been the same chap who looked 
in at the hotel window! ” went on the senator’s 
son to Dave. “ Now, what do you make of 
that?” 

“ I make of it that he is trying to do us some 
injury,” answered Dave. 

“ Do you really think it could be Nick Jasniff? ” 

“ I am sure I don’t know. If it was Jasniff, 
how in the world did he get up here in this town? ” 


THE FIRST CLUE 


223 


“ Perhaps he has been following us.” 

“ But how could he do that unless he had an 
automobile or a motorcycle, or something like 
that?” 

“ I am sure I can’t answer that question.” 
Roger turned to the garage man. “ Did you 
know the fellow at all? ” 

“ No, boss; he was a stranger to me.” 

“Have you ever seen him before?” asked 
Dave. 

“ Oh, I ain’t exactly sure of that, boss — so 
many men cornin’ and goin’ all the time.” 

“ Let us see if he did any injury to the car,” 
suggested Roger. 

The automobile was run out into the yard of 
the hotel, and there the young men went over the 
machine carefully. Nothing seemed to be amiss, 
and the things in the tonneau had been left undis- 
turbed. 

“ I guess he didn’t have time enough to do any- 
thing,” said Dave. “ I think he had been watch- 
ing this man,” indicating the colored individual, 
“ and as soon as he went into the hotel, the rascal 
sneaked into the garage intending to get the car 
out. Maybe he was nothing more than an auto 
thief who watched us come to the hotel and 
thought he saw a chance to get away with our 
car.” 

“ If he’s an auto thief, I wish I had caught 


224 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

him,” was the comment of the colored man. 

“ I think I’ll buy a lock for the car,” announced 
Dave. “ I saw an automobile place down the 
street. We can stop there before we leave town.” 

This was done ; and the chums purchased a lock 
which could be placed on the gear shift, so that 
it would be impossible to start the car without 
unlocking the device or smashing it. 

“ By the turn of affairs, we’ve got to watch out 
for more than one kind of enemy,” announced 
Roger, when the search for clues to the mysterious 
disappearance of the two girls had again been re- 
sumed. 

“ I’ve got a new idea, Roger,” answered our 
hero slowly. “ I may be mistaken, but somehow 
it strikes me that it would pay us to take a look 
around Chesleyville before we go farther. If 
that fellow was connected in any way with the kid- 
napping of Jessie and Laura, the girls may be 
held somewhere in this neighborhood.” 

“ That idea strikes me as a good one, Dave. 
Let us make a number of inquiries and find out if 
the gypsies were in this vicinity.” 

The plan was carried out, the two youths spend- 
ing the best part of a couple of hours both in the 
town and on the outskirts. The search in that 
vicinity, however, proved fruitless, and once again 
they set off on their trip along the line of the rail- 
road. 


THE FIRST CLUE 


225 


Before lunch time they had stopped at three 
more places, and at one of them gained the in- 
formation that several gypsies had been seen in 
that vicinity about two weeks before. They had 
been men, and where they had gone nobody 
seemed to know. 

Late that afternoon found the chums at a place 
known as Fallon’s Crossing. Here a small side- 
line crossed the main railroad, and here were lo- 
cated a switch shanty and a small freight yard. 
At this point it was said that the train which had 
carried Laura and Jessie had stopped for fully 
fifteen minutes, to let the hot box cool off and also 
to allow another train to pass. Just beyond Fal- 
lon’s Crossing was the thriving town of Crandall, 
at which the train was scheduled to make a regular 
stop. 

The switchman at the shanty could tell them 
nothing more than that the train had stopped. 
He said a number of people had gotten off to pick 
some wildflowers that grew by the roadside, and 
then re-entered the train. Who the people had 
been, he could not remember. 

There was a man hanging around the freight 
yard who had also been present on the day when 
the train had stopped, and he vouchsafed the in- 
formation that when the people on the train had 
learned that the stop would be for some time a 
number had tramped up the tracks to the town, to 


226 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


get on again when the train arrived at the regular 
station. 

“ There were at least eight or ten people did 
that,” said the freight-yard man; “but who they 
were I do not know.” 

“ Did you see any gypsies around? ” questioned 
Dave. 

“ No. We haven’t had a gypsy around here in 
years. We don’t stand for gypsies any more than 
we do for tramps.” 

When the two chums returned to their automo- 
bile they saw nearby a middle-aged man with a 
motorcycle. He was bending over the machine, 
trying to fix something, and as they came closer 
he hailed them. 

“ Is that your car over there? ” he questioned. 

“ It is,” answered Dave. 

“ Then, would you mind lending me a small 
wrench for a few minutes? I just broke mine.” 

“ Certainly,” answered Dave. 

The tool was brought forth, and the man at 
once set to work to use it. While the two chums 
looked on the man spoke about the trials and trib- 
ulations he had had with the motorcycle and of a 
trip he had made to that vicinity some time before. 
Being questioned, it developed that he had been 
on hand when the train containing the two girls 
had stopped there. 

“ I was quite interested in that hot box they 


THE FIRST CLUE 227 

had, and I was talking to the fireman about it,” he 
said. 

“ Did you see any of the folks leave the train? ” 
questioned Dave. “ We are very anxious to find 
out.” And then, seeing the look of surprise on 
the man’s face, he gave his reasons. 

“ I’ve read about that kidnapping case ! ” cried 
the man. “ Yes, I saw at least a dozen people 
leave the cars and walk off in the direction of the 
town. Some of them said they belonged in the 
town, and others asked the conductor if they 
couldn’t go up to the railroad station and get 
aboard again when the train came along.” 

“Did you notice those two young ladies?” 
questioned Roger eagerly, and gave a description 
of Laura and Jessie. 

“ I think I did see them,” answered the man 
slowly. “ I remember seeing the beaded hand- 
bag one of the young ladies carried, and I re- 
member she wore a hat with a blue pompon.” 

“It must have been Jessie and Laura!” ex- 
claimed Dave. “ Have you any idea where they 
went? ” 

“ The whole crowd walked up the railroad 
tracks in the direction of the town. Whether 
they went to the station or not, I, of course, don’t 
know. I hung around here watching them fix 
that hot box, and then I jumped on my motor- 
cycle and rode off in the opposite direction.” 


228 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


This was all the man on the motorcycle could 
tell; and as he was in a hurry to go on they did 
not detain him further. 

“ This looks like a clue,” was Roger’s comment, 
as they re-entered the automobile and moved on 
their way. “ I guess the best thing we can do, 
Dave, is to make some inquiries around Crandall.” 

“ Exactly, Roger ! I think we are on the trail 
at last; ” and Dave’s face showed his pleasure. 

The road ran close to the tracks, and it took 
them but a few minutes to reach the town. Here 
they continued their inquiries in and around the 
station, but without gaining any additional in- 
formation. 

“ It is too bad,” said Roger disappointedly. 
“ I thought sure we would learn something more.” 

“ We’ve got to do it, Roger ! ” cried Dave. 
“ I am sure we are on the right track. Those 
girls came here, and, so far as we can learn, no- 
body saw them get on the train again. If they 
didn’t get on the train, where did they go? ” 

“ I’d give a good deal to have that question an- 
swered,” returned the senator’s son. He heaved 
a sigh. “ Oh, we’ve got to do something! ” 

They continued their inquiries, and presently 
found themselves talking to a lame boy in charge 
of a small fruit-stand, where they made a pur- 
chase. 

“ Yes, I was here the day the train was held 


THE FIRST CLUE 


229 


up down at the Crossing, and some of the folks 
walked up to the station,” said the lame boy. 
“ There were a couple of drummers with their 
cases, and a man and his wife and two or three 
children, and then there were a couple of other 
men, — and three or four young ladies. Some of 
’em went right over to the station, and the rest of 
’em went uptown.” 

“ Did you notice two young ladies in particu- 
lar?” questioned Dave; and then he told how 
Laura and Jessie had been dressed, and of the 
beaded handbags they carried, and added that 
they also had a magazine or two. 

“ Oh, yes, I remember them ! ” cried the young 
fruit-stand keeper. “ They stopped here and got 
some grapes and a couple of peaches.” 

“ And did they get on the train again when it 
came along? ” 

“ I didn’.t see ’em. They walked uptown. 
One of them asked me where the Bliss House 
was.” 

“ The Bliss House? ” queried Roger. 

“ Yes, sir. That’s our hotel,” explained the 
boy. 

“ And they went there? ” questioned Dave. 

“ I think they did.” 


CHAPTER XXIII 


WHAT THE LITTLE GIRLS KNEW 

Dave and Roger talked to the fruit-stand boy 
a few minutes longer, and then jumped into the 
automobile and rode up to the Bliss House, an 
old-fashioned hotel, standing on a corner and sur- 
rounded by a number of stately elm trees. 

“ I can’t understand this at all, Dave,” said 
Roger, while on the way. “ What would take 
those girls uptown? They must have known that 
the train might come along at any minute, and 
then, if they weren’t on hand to get aboard, 
they’d be left.” 

“ It certainly is a mystery, Roger. All we can 
do is to follow up this clue and see where it leads 
to. From what that man who had the motor- 
cycle said, and from what the lame boy told us, 
it is pretty certain that Jessie and Laura got off 
the train at the Crossing and did not get on again 
at this railroad station. And if they came up to 
the hotel here, they must have had some purpose 
in so doing.” 

The country hotel was not a very busy place, 
230 


WHAT THE LITTLE GIRLS KNEW 231 

and the chums found the clerk quite willing to give 
them all the information he could. He did not, 
however, remember the girls ; nor did the propri- 
etor of the place, who came up to see what was 
wanted, remember them. 

“ I don’t think they came here. Or, if they 
did, they didn’t come to the office,” said the clerk. 
“ I was here all day, and I know.” 

“ Did you have any strangers around the place 
that day, so far as you can remember?” ques- 
tioned Dave. 

“ None to stay. We had half a dozen drum- 
mers; but I know all of them, for they have been 
coming and going for a number of years.” 

“Wait a minute! Come to think of it, there 
was something else happened that day which I 
thought was rather queer,” cried the hotel pro- 
prietor suddenly. He was a bald-headed man, 
and he began to scratch his hairless head vigor- 
ously. “ Seems to me it was just about half an 
hour or so before that train came in, too,” he 
added, nodding his head emphatically. 

“What was the thing that happened?” ques- 
tioned Roger quickly. 

“ There was a big touring-car came down the 
Kapton road yonder. A man dressed as a chauf- 
feur was driving the machine. He stopped his 
car and asked for directions, and then the car 
swung around and came to a stop down there 


232 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

near our stables. I sent the boy out to see if any- 
thing was wanted — the stable man being off on 
an errand — and the boy came back and said they 
wanted to know when that train would get in. 
Then the car moved over to the other side of the 
street and stood there for five or ten minutes. 
The chauffeur turned around in his seat to talk 
very earnestly to a couple who were in the car. I 
couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they all 
seemed to be rather excited. Then the car went 
back down the road, and that was the last I saw 
of it.” 

“ It wasn’t a car that belonged around here, so 
far as you knew? ” asked our hero. 

“ No, it didn’t belong around here. It was a 
great big heavy enclosed affair, and looked as if 
it had seen pretty rough usage — one of the mud- 
guards being quite battered. That was one rea- 
son why I took notice of it — I thought maybe 
they had been in some sort of an accident, espe- 
cially when the chauffeur and the people in the 
car got to talking so excitedly among them- 
selves.” 

“ Did you notice what kind of people they 
were? ” asked Dave. 

“ I think the chauffeur was a foreigner. He 
had heavy dark hair and a small dark mustache. 
He wore a regular cap and goggles, and also a 
dust-coat.” 


WHAT THE LITTLE GIRLS KNEW 233 

“ Who were the people in the car? ” questioned 
the senator’s son. 

“ There were a man and a woman, and I should 
say they were rather elderly. The woman had a 
thick veil over her face, and the man wore a dust- 
coat buttoned up around his throat and a cap 
pulled far down over his forehead, and I think 
he had on smoked glasses. I thought the whole 
bunch might be foreigners, and that was another 
reason why I noticed them.” 

“ This is certainly interesting, but I don’t see 
how it connects up with the disappearance of the 
girls,” was Dave’s comment. 

“ Those gypsies all look like foreigners,” said 
Roger. 

“ Yes. But I don’t think any of them knows 
how to run an auto. They always use horses.” 

“ Oh, well, they might be getting up-to-date.” 

Thinking that the incident of the strange tour- 
ing-car might be worth following up, Dave and 
Roger left the hotel and ran their own automobile 
a distance along the Kapton road. From the ho- 
tel proprietor they had learned that this road led 
to the small village of Kapton two miles distant. 

“ This is a good deal like looking for a needle 
in a haystack,” was Roger’s comment. 

“ True, Roger. But if you took the haystack 
and went over it a wisp at a time, sooner or later 
you’d come on the needle,” answered Dave. 


234 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ And that is what I propose to do in this case — 
I’m going to follow up every possible clue until 
we strike something.” 

On the outskirts of Crandall they came upon a 
little country home where several children were 
enjoying themselves at a swing in the open door- 
yard. Here Dave stopped the car. 

“ I suppose you play here nearly every day,” he 
said to the oldest of the girls, a bright miss of nine 
or ten years of age. 

“ Oh, yes; whenever the weather is good.” 

“ And we have lots of fun,” broke in another 
of the happy group. 

“ We are trying to find out something about a 
big automobile that came along here about ten 
days ago,” said Roger. “ It was a great big en- 
closed car, and one of the mud-guards was 
smashed.” 

“ Oh, I remember that car, Nellie! ” cried one 
of the girls. “ Don’t you remember? It’s the 
one that stopped over by Radley’s orchard.” 

“Indeed I do remember!” answered Nellie, 
with a toss of her head. “ Didn’t they come close 
to running over Rover? ” 

“ What did the car stop at the orchard for? ” 
asked Dave. 

“ I don’t know exactly. I think they had to 
fix something on it. Anyway, the man opened the 
tin door on the top of the front,” answered the 


WHAT THE LITTLE GIRLS KNEW 235 

girl. “ That was broken, too, just like the tin 
thing over the wheels.” 

“ They didn’t stop for that,” said another one 
of the girls. “ They stopped to send Billy Barton 
on an errand down to the hotel.” 

This announcement on the part of the little girl 
filled our hero and Roger with increased interest. 

“ Where is this Billy Barton, and what did he 
go to the hotel for? ” questioned Dave. 

“ The man who ran the car gave Billy a note to 
give to two young ladies who, he said, would either 
be at the hotel or would soon get there. Billy 
said he saw two young ladies just going into the 
hotel, and asked them if they were the people he 
was looking for, and they said ‘Yes’; and so 
Billy gave them the note. The man gave him ten 
cents for doing it. I wish I could deliver a note 
and get ten cents for it,” continued the little girl 
wistfully. 

“ Well, you’re going to get ten cents for telling 
me all about those people in the automobile,” said 
our hero, and produced several dimes which he 
distributed among those present, much to their 
astonishment and gratification. 

“ But that wasn’t all of it, mister,” said one of 
the girls. “ Those young ladies came up here and 
got into the automobile and rode away.” 

“Got into the automobile and rode away!” 
burst out Dave and Roger simultaneously. 


236 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ I saw them, too ! ” said the smallest of the 
girls, who had thus far spoken but little. “ They 
didn’t get in very easy though! ” 

“They didn’t get in easy? ” queried our hero. 
“ What do you mean? ” 

“ Why the driver of the automobile and the 
man who was inside got out and had to shove 
them both in. I thought they was fooling, but 
they was awful rough about it.” 

“ Did the girls scream, or anything like that? ” 
asked Roger. 

“ I don’t know. I wasn’t near enough to hear.” 

“ And then, when the girls were in the auto, 
what did the others do? ” 

“ Oh, they drove away just as fast as they could. 
They drove so fast that they nearly ran over old 
Mr. Merrick.” 

“Who is he?” 

“Why, don’t you know old Mr. Merrick?” 
asked the little girl. “ He lives ’way up the road 
— up there where you see that little white house. 
He was standing out in the middle of the road 
when the automobile rushed past him so fast that 
he could hardly jump out of the way. He was 
awful angry. He told my papa that he thought 
the man ought to be arrested.” 

“ If only they had arrested them! ” murmured 
Dave. 



“The max who ran the car gave Billy a note to give to two 

young ladies.” — Page 235. 




















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WHAT THE LITTLE GIRLS KNEW 237 

“ And that was the last you saw of that auto- 
mobile?” asked Roger. 

“ Yes, sir,” came from several of the girls at 
once. 

“ It hasn’t been this way again? ” 

“ No, sir.” 

After that the two chums questioned the little 
girls closer about the general appearance of the 
car, and learned that the turnout not only had one 
of the mud-guards badly bent, but that the side of 
the car was scratched in several places and that 
the wind-shield was cracked. 

“ That’s something to go by, but not much,” 
remarked our hero. “ One thing is certain, we 
are on the right trail at last. For some reason 
that isn’t at all clear, Jessie and Laura left that 
train at the Crossing, walked up to the railroad 
station here in town, and then to the hotel. 
There they were met by the small boy with the 
note, and as a result of receiving that note they 
came out here and either got into that automobile 
willingly or were forced into it.” 

“ But where did the auto go to, Dave? ” 

“ That remains to be found out.” 

“ Will you let the authorities know about this ? ” 

“ At once ! The more people we get on this 
trail, the quicker we’ll be able to run those rascals 
down.” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


ANOTHER CLUE 

Dave and Roger lost no time in getting back 
to the business section of Crandall, and there they 
inquired their way to police headquarters. They 
found the chief in charge, and introducing them- 
selves asked him if he knew about the disappear- 
ance of the girls. 

“ Oh, yes, I know all about that,” answered the 
chief. “ We’ve been on the watch for them, but 
so far nothing has come to light.” 

Thereupon Dave and Roger related what they 
had heard from the lame boy and those at the 
Bliss House, and then what the little girls had 
told. 

“ This is mighty interesting,” mused the chief. 
u But I don’t see what I can do except to have my 
men on the watch for that automobile. If it turns 
up, do you want the party running it held? ” 

“ I certainly do ! ” answered Dave. “ Or bet- 
ter yet, if you get the chance, have the auto fol- 
lowed and see where it goes to — especially if it 
goes down the Kapton road.” 

“ All right, I’ll do that.” 

238 


ANOTHER CLUE 


239 


From the police station the two young civil en- 
gineers hurried down to the telegraph office, and 
there sent a long message to the folks in Crum- 
ville. No message had arrived for them, so they 
took it for granted that no news had come in at 
the Wadsworth place since their departure. 

“And now what’s the next move?” queried 
Roger, who in this affair looked to Dave as the 
leader. 

“ I think we had better travel along that Kap- 
ton road and see if we can find out anything more 
about that automobile and those in it,” was the 
reply. “ There is certainly no use in our continu- 
ing the trip along the railroad.” 

It was growing dark when Crandall was left 
behind, and they journeyed forward on the Kap- 
ton road slowly, keeping their eyes open for any- 
thing that might suggest a further solution of the 
mystery they were endeavoring to unravel. 

“ We might stop and question that Mr. Mer- 
rick the little girls mentioned,” suggested Roger. 

“ Yes, we can do that, although I doubt if the 
old man can add much to what we already know.” 

They found Mr. Aaron Merrick a very fussy 
old individual and hard to talk to. He remem- 
bered the incident of the automobile very well, 
and was highly indignant, but he could not tell 
anything about who had been driving the car or 
who was inside. 


2 4 o DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ They went by me jest like a comet! ” he ex- 
plained. “ I had to jump fer my life, or I’d been 
run over sure ! All them pesky rascals ought to 
be put in prison. I don’t believe in autermobiles, 
anyway,” and he looked rather indignantly at the 
two chums. 

“ Well, we are after the fellow who ran that 
auto,” answered Roger. “ And if we catch him 
he’ll go to prison fast enough.” 

“ What’s the matter? Did he steal that there 
car?” 

“ He did worse,” answered the senator’s son. 
“ But we haven’t got time to talk about that now,” 
he added, and hurried away, followed by our hero. 
Mr. Merrick came after them, anxious to know 
what might be wrong, but they did not enlighten 
him. 

Half an hour later found the machine rolling 
into the little village of Kapton. They had 
stopped twice on the way, but had learned nothing 
more concerning the big touring car with the bat- 
tered mud-guard and the cracked wind-shield. 

“ Do you think we ought to stay here all 
night?” questioned Roger. 

“ That will depend on whether we can get ac- 
commodation or not,” returned Dave. “ Any- 
how, we want to make some inquiries before we 
leave this place.” 


ANOTHER CLUE 


241 

They soon learned that Kapton boasted of noth- 
ing in the way of a hotel or boarding-house. 

“ But you can get pretty good accommodations 
at the Bliss House in Crandall,” said the store- 
keeper, who gave them the information. “ Or 
else you can go to the American House at Fry- 
town.” 

“ Is that in the opposite direction to Crandall? ” 
questioned Dave. 

“ Yes, sir; it’s on the same road that you came 
up on. The road runs right through Frytown to 
Cullomburg, and it’s a pretty fair road all the 
way.” 

“ Then I guess we’ll go on to Frytown. By 
the way, can you give us any information about a 
big touring-car that went through here about ten 
days ago — a touring-car that had a battered mud- 
guard and a cracked wind-shield and was driven by 
a fellow who looked like a foreigner — a chap 
with a small black mustache? ” 

“ Why, yes, I saw that car ! ” cried the store- 
keeper. “ The fellow who ran it came in here 
and bought a lot of groceries.” 

“ He did!” exclaimed both of the chums in 
surprise. 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ When was this? ” 

“ Let me see 


The storekeeper rubbed 


242 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

his chin reflectively. “ I guess it was just about a 
week ago to-day. The fellow came in and said 
he was in a good deal of a hurry, so I and my 
clerk hustled to get the order out for him. We 
packed it in a big box, and put the box in the ton- 
neau of the car. But what about this — is the 
man some friend of yours?” 

“Hardly a friend,” answered Dave quickly 1 
“ But we are very anxious to locate him. Have 
you any idea where he came from or where he 
went? ” 

“ All I can say is that he came into this place 
from Frytown way, and he turned around after 
he had the stuff and went back the way he came.” 

“ Did he give you any names, or say where he 
was from? ” questioned Roger. 

“ No, he didn’t say anything excepting that he 
was buying the things for some folks who were 
sick in a camp and couldn’t get away. I asked 
him one or two questions, but he acted as if he 
didn’t want to answer them, and so I didn’t say 
too much. You see, he paid spot cash for what 
he got, so it was none of my business,” added 
the storekeeper. 

“ Do you remember the things he got? ” ques- 
tioned Dave. And then, as the storekeeper 
showed that he was becoming suspicious, our hero 
added : “ I may be perfectly frank with you, 

Mr. Linton. We suspect that the man who is 


ANOTHER CLUE 


243 


running that automobile is a fellow who escaped 
some time ago from prison. In fact, we are not 
sure that he owns the automobile he is running, 
and it is possible that he may be mixed up in the 
abduction of two young ladies. That is why we 
are so anxious to get on his trail.” 

“You don’t say! Well, I’d want to get on 
the trail of a rascal like that myself. Yes, I 
think I can tell you pretty near everything the fel- 
low bought.” 

And thereupon the storekeeper enumerated a 
number of articles, including coffee, sugar, flour, 
butter, and a quantity of canned goods. 

“And was that all?” asked Roger, as the 
storekeeper paused. 

“ No. After he had those goods, he asked 
about a good strong clothes-line, and then he 
bought a lock, some screws and nails, and a ham- 
mer and a screwdriver.” 

“ And was that all? ” 

“ That’s all, so far as I can remember. Oh, 
no ! he did buy some smoking tobacco and a cou- 
ple of pipes and some packages of cigarettes.” 

“ And how did the fellow look? Can you de- 
scribe him? ” 

“ I can’t say much except that he was rather 
tall and thin and had, as you said, a little black 
mustache, and heavy black curly hair. His face 
was very dark, as if he had gotten well tanned. 


244 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

He kept on his automobile goggles, and had his 
cap pulled down well over his forehead, and his 
dust-coat was buttoned up tight around his neck.” 

“You haven’t seen him since?” 

“ I think I saw the automobile going by the 
door late one evening a couple of nights ago, but 
I am not sure. You see, I am getting old, and 
my eyesight ain’t none too good,” concluded the 
storekeeper. 

When Dave and Roger returned to the automo- 
bile and headed the car in the direction of Fry- 
town, both were in a meditative mood. 

“ I think I can begin to figure this out, Roger,” 
said Dave slowly. “ It looks to me as if Jessie 
and Laura were being held prisoners somewhere 
in this vicinity, and that that fellow who ran the 
car, whoever he is, came down here to buy sup- 
plies for the crowd.” 

“ Yes. And do you remember what the store- 
keeper said about the clothes-line and a lock and 
nails? More than likely they’ve got the poor 
girls tied fast in some room, and they have put a 
new lock on the door and nailed up the windows.” 

“ What you say would fit in very well with 
what the storekeeper told us. If that rascal 
came here to get his supplies, it would seem to 
indicate that the place where the girls are being 
kept prisoners must be somewhere in this vicinity.” 

“ Yes, unless they did not dare to go to any 


ANOTHER CLUE 


245 

town that was closer by. For all we know, he 
may have come from twenty or thirty miles 
away — or even farther than that.” 

“ Well, we’re on the right trail, anyway, and 
that’s something,” returned Dave hopefully. 
Then he gave a sudden exclamation. “ My 
gracious! Why didn’t I think of that before? ” 
“ Think of what, Dave? ” 

“ Don’t you remember what the storekeeper 
said about that fellow purchasing some cig- 
arettes? ” 

“What of it?” 

“ Why, just this : One of the things that fas- 
tened the crime on Jasniff and Merwell at the 
time Mr. Wadsworth’s jewelry factory was 
robbed was the fact that both of those rascals 
were inveterate cigarette smokers, and smoked a 
certain brand of Turkish cigarettes — a kind 
that had a peculiar gold and blue band around 
the box. I’m going back and ask that store- 
keeper what kind of cigarettes that fellow got.” 

And so speaking Dave made a sharp turn and 
brought the car around, and in a moment more 
was on his way back to the store. 

“Back again, eh?” said the proprietor. 
“ You weren’t gone very long.” 

“ I believe, Mr. Linton, you said that fellow 
we were talking about purchased some tobacco 
and cigarettes?” 


246 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ So I did.” 

“ Can you remember anything about the cig- 
arettes? Please try to think exactly of what hap- 
pened when he asked for them.” 

“Hum! Let me see!” The storekeeper 
meditated for a moment. “ Oh, yes, I remem- 
ber now! He asked me if I had any Doradas or 
Mimoras, or any other Turkish cigarettes. I 
told him No, we had very little call for any- 
thing like that. So then he took half a dozen 
packages of these,” and the storekeeper pointed 
to some cigarettes in his showcase. 

“ Thank you. That’s all I wanted to know,” 
answered Dave. “Good night”; and he hur- 
ried away to the automobile with Roger follow- 
ing. 

“Well, what do you make of this?” ques- 
tioned the senator’s son quickly. 

“ I think we have found another clue, Roger. 
That fellow asked for Doradas cigarettes. They 
are a Turkish brand, and come in a box having a 
blue and gold band around it — the same kind of 
cigarettes that Jasniff smoked when he and Mer- 
well robbed Mr. Wadsworth’s safe.” 


CHAPTER XXV 


WHAT HORSEHAIR HAD TO TELL 

“ Then you think the fellow purchased the 
cigarettes for Jasniff?” questioned Roger, after 
our hero had made the declaration concerning the 
Wadsworth robbery. 

“Either that, Roger; or else the fellow pur- 
chased the cigarettes for himself.” 

“ Do you mean to insinuate that that chauffeur 
was Nick Jasniff? ” exclaimed the senator’s son. 

“ Why not, Roger? It would be an easy mat- 
ter for Jasniff to disguise himself. In fact, if he 
was in any such game as this, I think that is just 
what he would do. He could easily stain his skin 
with some walnut juice, or something like that, 
gotten from the gypsies, and then put on a wig and 
a false mustache.” 

“ I believe that’s just what he did! ” exclaimed 
Roger. “ I know one thing — he was a good 
hand at running automobiles. I have seen him 
do it.” 

“ The whole thing fits in pretty closely,” went 
on Dave. “ First, Jasniff was angry at Mr. 

247 


248 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

Wadsworth and the rest of us for placing him in 
prison. Next, he stole those letters and my 
money. The letters told him all about the gyp- 
sies and their troubles with our folks. He put 
two and two together, came on East, and fixed 
up the plan to kidnap the girls.” 

“ But how did they get the girls to leave the 
train at Crandall and then go from the hotel to 
where the automobile stood along the road? ” 

“ That is something still to be explained. But 
that can wait. What we want to do just now is 
to find out where they took Jessie and Laura, and 
rescue them.” 

“ It certainly is a great search, Dave. What 
are you going to do next? ” 

“ I think the best thing we can do is to work 
our way along to Frytown. That is quite a place, 
and it is barely possible that from there we can get 
into communication with Crumville on the long 
distance telephone. If we can do that, we can 
tell the folks at home all we have learned, and 
get them to send some first-class detectives out 
this way to assist us in the search.” 

“ Let’s run rather slow on the way to Fry- 
town,” suggested the senator’s son. “ We may 
be able to pick up more clues.” 

“ Yes, we’ll keep our eyes wide open.” 

They presently found themselves on a lonely 
stretch of the country road, and here it was so 


WHAT HORSEHAIR HAD TO TELL 249 

dark they had to turn on all the lights of the ma- 
chine. 

“ I’d give all I’m worth, Dave, if we could 
catch sight of that other car,” remarked Roger, 
after a spell of silence. 

“ I’m afraid that’s too much to hope for,” an- 
swered our hero, with a grim smile. “ We ought 
to be thankful that we have learned as much as 
we have. If we hadn’t met that fellow on the 
motorcycle down at the Crossing, we might still 
be hunting for clues along the line of the railroad 
between Crandall and Boston.” 

“ Oh, yes, I think we’ve done wonderfully 
well.” 

On the way to Frytown they stopped at six 
or seven farmhouses, but without learning any- 
thing that was to their advantage. Two farm- 
ers had seen the big touring car with the battered 
mud-guard go by a week or two before, but could 
give no definite information as to who had been 
driving it or what passengers the automobile had 
contained. 

“ So many machines cornin’ and goin’ these 
days, a feller don’t pay much ’tention to ’em,” was 
the way one farmer expressed himself. 

“ I know it,” answered Dave. “ But we are 
very anxious to find that car, so I thought it 
wouldn’t do any harm to ask.” 

“ Oh, no harm whatever,” said the farmer. 


250 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

When the chums reached Frytown it was after 
nine o’clock. They made their way at once to 
the American House, the hotel which the Kapton 
storekeeper had mentioned, and there placed their 
machine in the garage, engaged a room, and asked 
if they might be served with something to eat. 

“ The dining room is closed,” announced the 
proprietor. “ But we don’t let anybody starve,” 
he added, with a smile. “ Just come this way, 
and I guess we can fix you up,” and he led them 
to a side room, where a waitress served them with 
a plain but substantial supper. Before this was 
eaten, however, Dave questioned the man about 
telephone connections. 

“ You can’t get any out-of-town connections 
after seven o’clock,” was the statement made by 
the hotel keeper. “ You’ll have to wait until 
seven o’clock to-morrow morning.” 

After the meal the two chums questioned the 
hotel man and several of his assistants about the 
big automobile they were looking for, and were 
informed that the touring-car had been seen in 
Frytown a number of times, moving up and down 
the main road. 

“ Once I saw it when it had several people in- 
side besides the chauffeur,” said one man. “ The 
people seemed to be cuttin’ up pretty well, but 
what it was all about, I don’t know. The car 


WHAT HORSEHAIR HAD TO TELL 251 

was goin’ too fast to give a fellow a chance to 
see.” 

“ How long ago was that?” questioned Dave 
quickly. 

“ Oh, I don’t know. Ten days or two weeks 
— or maybe longer.” 

“ Do you remember which way the car was go- 
ing at that time? ” 

“ Sure. It was headed in the direction of Cul- 
lomburg.” 

“How far is that town?” questioned Roger. 

“ That’s up in the mountains about eight miles 
from here. It’s a pretty fair road, though, all the 
way.” 

After receiving this information, Dave and 
Roger took a walk around the town, stopping at 
several of the stores and making a number of 
small purchases just for the sake of getting into 
conversation with the storekeepers. From one of 
these they learned that the man who had driven 
the car had come in for some supplies, including 
some cigarettes. 

“ Yes, he bought six packages of Turkish cig- 
arettes — all I had,” said the storekeeper. 

From this man they learned that there was a 
regular public garage in the place with a machine 
shop attached. 

“ Let us go over there. Possibly the fellow 


252 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

with the car stopped for gasoline or oil, or to get 
something fixed,” said our hero. 

The garage was a short distance up a side 
street, and they found the man in charge sitting in 
a little office with his feet on a desk and smoking 
a corncob pipe. They stared at this man for a 
moment in amazement, and then both burst out: 

“ Horsehair ! ” 

“Eh? Wot’s that?” cried the man, and 
swung his feet down from the desk and leaped up, 
taking his corncob pipe from his mouth as he 
did so. “ Well now, ain’t this jest wonderful! ” 
he ejaculated. “ Dave Porter and Roger Morr! 
Who would ’a’ thunk it! ” 

“ And who would have thought of meeting you 
here, Horsehair?” cried Dave, shaking hands 
vigorously, quickly followed by his chum. 

“ Why, we thought you were still driving the 
stage-coach at Oak Hall,” remarked the senator’s 
son. 

For the man they had run across so unexpect- 
edly was indeed Jackson Lemond, the man who 
for years had driven the stage-coach and worked 
around the stables at the boarding-school. Be- 
cause of the number of horsehairs which con- 
tinually clung to his clothing, the pupils had never 
known him by any other name than Horsehair. 

“ Well, you see, I got a leetle bit old for that 
job — or else the boys got a leetle bit too frisky 


WHAT HORSEHAIR HAD TO TELL 253 

fer me, so I looked around fer something else 
that was a bit more quiet; and as my cousin owned 
this garage, and he was too sick to tend to busi- 
ness, I come out here and took hold — and here I 
be.” 

“It’s like a touch of old times, Horsehair!” 
cried Dave, as he dropped on a chair, while 
Roger did the same. And then after a few more 
words about their former doings at Oak Hall our 
hero continued: “ I am after some information, 
and I know you’ll give it to me if you possibly can. 
Have you noticed during the past couple of weeks 
a big touring-car around here — a car that has 
one of the mud-guards badly smashed, and the 
wind-shield cracked, and a good deal scratched 
up?” 

“ Sure, I know that car,” answered Horsehair 
readily. “ The feller that runs it was in here 
to git some new batteries, and also some gas and 
oil.” 

“Was he smoking cigarettes?” questioned 
Roger. 

“ He was — one right after another. But I 
told him not to smoke while I was pourin’ in the 
gasoline. I don’t want to go up to heaven jest 
yet; ” and Horsehair chuckled over his little joke. 

“ Have you any idea where that fellow came 
from or where he went to?” questioned Dave. 
“ I might as well tell you, Horsehair, it is of 


254 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

great importance. We suspect that fellow of 
some serious crimes.” 

“You don’t say, Porter! What did he do — 
steal that machine ? Oh, I know them auto 
thieves is all over. They told me only last week 
a car was stole in and around Boston ’most every 
day.” 

“ Never mind what the fellow is guilty of, 
Horsehair. What we want to do is to find him, 
and then you’ll know all about it.” 

“ Well, I don’t know where he come from, 
but after he got fixed up here he turned off in the 
direction of Cullomburg.” 

“ Do you know what make of car it was? ” 

“ Yes, although the name-plate had been tore 
off. It was a Simms-Tecco, one of them old for- 
eign cars. Must be about eight or a dozen years 
old. It had them old-fashioned battery connec- 
tions on it, and had them old Horseshoe anti-skid 
tires on the rear wheels. That’s how I remem- 
ber it.” 

“ You must have learned a lot about cars after 
you left Oak Hall,” was Roger’s comment. 

“ Oh, I’m right in the business now, lam!” an- 
swered Horsehair proudly. 

“ You didn’t know who the fellow was, did 
you?” questioned Dave. 

“ No, I didn’t. But do you know, he acted 
awful queer — that feller did. He come sailin’ in 


WHAT HORSEHAIR HAD TO TELL 255 

here shoutin’ out fer gasoline, and all at once, 
when he seen me, he stopped as if he was shot, 
and fer a minute or two I thought he was goin’ 
to back out and go ’way. Then he seemed to git 
over it and bought what he wanted, jest like I 
said.” 

“ It is no wonder that he was surprised, if he 
is the fellow we think,” answered Dave. “ Do 
you remember a chap who went to Oak Hall, 
named Nick Jasniff — the fellow who once at- 
tacked me in the gymnasium with an Indian club 
and then ran away? ” 

“ O’ course I remember that big overgrown 
bully,” answered Horsehair. 

“ Well, that’s the fellow we think it is,” said 
Roger. 

“ But it can’t be him ! This feller was a fur- 
riner. He had real dark skin and dark hair and a 
little dark mustache.” 

“ We think he was in disguise.” 

“ Gee, sho! you don’t mean it?” ejaculated 
Jackson Lemond. “ Gosh, it does beat all wot 
some fellers will do! And I suppose he stole 
that auto? ” 

“ We don’t know about that. But even if he 
did, we think he is guilty of a worse crime,” an- 
swered Dave; and thereupon related some of the 
particulars concerning the disappearance of his 
sister and Jessie. 


256 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Well, if that rascal is guilty of sech a measly 
piece of business as that, I hope you ketch him,” 
said Horsehair. “ He deserves to be put behind 
the bars.” 

The two chums talked the matter over with 
the former stage driver of Oak Hall for fully 
half an hour, and then returned to the hotel. 
Now that the scent of the trail seemed to grow 
warmer, it was hard for them to rest, and they 
slept but little and were glad when morning was 
at hand. 

“ I am going to call up Crumville on the tele- 
phone as soon as possible,” declared Dave, and 
went to a booth to see if he could get the neces- 
sary connections. 

It took some little time, but finally he recog- 
nized the voice of Mr. Wadsworth. 

“ This is Dave — Dave Porter,” said our hero. 
“ I’ve got some news of importance.” 

“ And we’ve got some news, too,” answered 
the jewelry manufacturer. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


THE MOUNTAIN ROAD 

The news Mr. Oliver Wadsworth had to im- 
part was to the effect that two more notes had 
been received from those who held Laura and 
Jessie prisoners. 

The first told that it was known Dave and 
Roger were trying to follow up those who had 
committed the crime, and added a warning that it 
would do no good and if they persisted in the 
search they would certainly come to grief. The 
second communication had been another demand 
for the fifty thousand dollars, stating that the 
sum must be paid over in cash inside of the next 
three days and designating how the transfer was 
to be made. With that communication was sent 
a lock of each girl’s hair and also a card on which 
was written : " We are well” and signed by 

both. 

“ I’m glad to know they are well,” answered 
Dave; and then he related the particulars of what 
he and Roger had discovered since they had sent 
their former messages to Crumville. 

“ It certainly looks as if you were on the right 
257 


258 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

track!” exclaimed the jewelry manufacturer. 
“ I hope you will notify the local authorities, so 
that they will watch out for that car and those who 
are running it.” 

“We have done that,” answered our hero; 
“ but the local authorities up here do not amount 
to a great deal when it comes to running down 
such slick criminals. I think the best thing you 
can do is to notify some of those city detectives to 
come up here and get busy.” 

“ You can rest assured, Dave, that I will do 
that — and at once,” was the reply. “ Where 
can they get into communication with you ? ” 

“ We are now stopping at the American House 
in Frytown, but from here we are going to go up 
into the mountains to Cullomburg. We have an 
idea that the girls are being held somewhere be- 
tween here and Cullomburg or beyond. There 
are not very many good roads around here, and 
it is reported that the battered-up touring-car was 
seen going back and forth on the road between 
here and that mountain town.” 

Before the conversation over the telephone 
came to an end, Dunston Porter broke in on the 
Crumville end of the wire, and when he heard of 
what had been discovered stated that he would 
come on to Crandall immediately, bringing sev- 
eral men with him, and there get some kind of 
turnout to take him to Frytown and beyond. 


THE MOUNTAIN ROAD 


259 


“ There can’t be too many of us in this search,” 
said Dave’s uncle. 

“ If we learn anything new we’ll send word to 
you at the American House in Frytown,” an- 
nounced Dave, “ and if we need any signal re- 
member what we used to use — two shots or two 
whistles in quick succession”; and thereupon the 
telephone conversation came to an end. 

“ I’m glad to learn your uncle is coming up 
here and that he will bring two or three men with 
him,” said Roger, when told of what had been said 
over the wire. “ As your uncle says, it would be 
impossible for us to round up those rascals alone, 
even if we were fortunate enough to locate them.” 

“ I don’t want to round them up so much as I 
want to rescue Jessie and Laura,” was the reply. 

“ I’m glad to learn that they are well, Dave.” 

“ But we can’t be sure of that, Roger. That 
card may have been signed under compulsion, or 
it may have been signed some days ago. There 
is no telling what condition the girls are in just 
now. They may have been dreadfully mis- 
treated,” and the look on Dave’s face showed his 
great anxiety. 

The chums explained the situation to the hotel 
proprietor, who promised to aid them in every 
way possible. Then they had breakfast, paid 
their bill, and rode away from the hotel. They 
stopped at the garage where Horsehair was in 


260 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


charge, and there purchased some gasoline and 
oil and had a little more air put in their tires. 

“ Now don’t forget, Horsehair,” said Dave. 
“ If that fellow puts in an appearance with that 
battered-up car — or anybody else comes with 
that car — be sure to have the fellow held. I 
don’t care how you do it — just see to it that he 
doesn’t get away. If he talks about damages, or 
anything like that, don’t pay any attention to him. 
We’ll foot the bill, if there’s anything to pay.” 

“ All right, Porter, you leave it to me,” an- 
swered the former stage-driver of Oak Hall. 
“ If I git my claws on ’im, you bet your boots he 
ain’t goin’ to git away, nohow.” 

“ And remember, if you see any of those peo- 
ple, or see any people who look like gypsies 
around here, either let me know, or else leave 
word at the hotel for my uncle, Dunston Porter.” 

“ Is he here?” 

“ Not yet. But I expect him up here before 
to-night.” 

Dave had questioned Horsehair about the 
road to Cullomburg, and had been told that it was 
a winding highway, passing over two small hills, 
and then going up into the mountains beyond. 
There were a number of cross-roads, but none of 
these was in very good condition, and that to 
travel them in an automobile would be difficult. 


THE MOUNTAIN ROAD 261 

“ I wonder if we had better take somebody 
along? ” remarked Roger, when they were about 
to leave. “ We might get a constable, or some- 
body like that.” 

“ I think we had better make this search on our 
own hook,” answered our hero. “ Outsiders 
might be more in the way than anything else.” 

“ I wish we had brought along some sort of 
disguises, Dave. They might come in handy.” 

“We can put on our auto goggles and pull our 
caps down pretty well over our foreheads and but- 
ton our dust-coats tight up around our necks, just 
as Jasniff did. That will help to disguise us.” 

A little while later found them on the road to 
Cullomburg. The highway was a winding one, 
passing a number of farms, where, however, the 
houses sat back a considerable distance from the 
road. Here and there they had to pass through 
patches of woods, and at one point they crossed a 
rickety bridge that spanned a small mountain tor- 
rent. 

“ That bridge isn’t any too good for a heavy 
auto,” announced Roger, after they had rattled 
over it. “ Some day some fellow with a heavy 
load will break through.” 

So far they had met nobody on the road, but 
now they heard the rattle of a wagon, and pres- 
ently a sleepy-looking farmer, drawing a load of 


262 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


hay, appeared. He was willing enough to stop 
and talk, but could give them no information con- 
cerning the battered touring-car. 

“ I belong on the other side of Cullomburg, an’ 
I don’t git down on this end o’ the road very 
much,” he explained. 

“ Do automobiles use the road on the other 
side of Cullomburg? ” questioned Roger. 

“ They do when they don’t know where they’re 
at,” answered the farmer, with a chuckle. “ A 
feller from Boston come through that way this 
spring, an’ he vowed he’d never come ag’in. He 
got stuck in the mud twice, an’ he cut two tires all 
to pieces on the rocks, an’ I guess it was too ex- 
pensive fer ’im.” 

“Then the good road ends at Cullomburg?” 
said Dave. 

“ That’s right, mister. An’ the last half-mile 
into town ain’t none too good at that.” 

“And the side-roads are all poor, too?” 

“ Yes, sir, every blame one o’ them. We 
ought to have ’em fixed up, but the folks aroun’ 
here don’t want to pay the taxes for doin’ it.” 
And then the farmer with the load of hay rattled 
on down the road. 

“ Well, the trail seems to be shortening,” an- 
nounced Dave, as they continued on their way up 
a steep grade where he had to throw the clutch 
into second gear. “ If that car couldn’t use the 


THE MOUNTAIN ROAD 263 

road beyond Cullomburg and couldn’t use any of 
the side-roads, those rascals must be hanging out 
somewhere on this road between Frytown and 
Cullomburg.” 

They were passing up a rocky bit of the road- 
way when suddenly there came a loud report from 
one of the back tires. Dave turned off the power 
and put on the hand-brake, and they came to a 
stop. 

“ A blow-out,” he announced laconically. 

“ I was thinking we might get something of 
that sort after what that farmer said,” answered 
the senator’s son. “ Well, it’s all in the day’s 
work, Dave. We might as well get out and see 
how much damage has been done.” 

The cut in the back tire was not a large one, 
and at; first they thought to use the same tire again 
by putting in a patch. Then, however, Dave 
changed his mind, and said he would put on an- 
other shoe. 

“ The tube might blow out through the patch 
just when we wanted to use the car the worst 
way,” he said. “ If we have to, we can fall back 
on this old shoe later on.” 

The chums were used to putting on tires, so 
the task did not take them very long. There 
was a device attached to the engine for blowing 
up the inner tube, so they were saved the trouble 
of this exertion. 


264 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Suppose you let me run the car for a while ? ” 
suggested the senator’s son. 

“ All right, Roger; go ahead,” was the ready 
reply. “ Only don’t run too fast. I’ve got an- 
other idea. Perhaps we’ll be able to trace that 
other car by the marks left in the roadway. 
Don’t you remember Horsehair said that the back 
wheels of the car were equipped with the old-style 
Horseshoe anti-skid tires? ” 

“ Yes, I remember his saying that.” 

They proceeded along the mountain road with 
care, doing this not only to look for some trace 
of the car they wanted to locate, but also in order 
to avoid the rough stones which seemed to crop 
up most unexpectedly. A quarter of a mile far- 
ther on, they came out on a level stretch, and just 
beyond was a cross-road. Here the woods were 
thick on all sides, and the roadway was covered 
with dirt and decayed leaves. 

“ Certainly a rather lonely place,” announced 
Roger. 

“ A splendid place in which to hide,” answered 
Dave, and then, as they came closer to the cross- 
road, he added: “Let us stop here, Roger, I 
want to take a look around.” 

The touring-car was brought to a halt, and the 
chums got out and began to inspect the wagon and 
other tracks to be seen both on the highway which 
they had been traveling and the narrow cross- 


THE MOUNTAIN ROAD 


265 

road. A few minutes later Dave uttered a cry. 

“Here are the marks of auto tires, Roger! 
Just look in this muddy stretch. Wouldn’t you 
say that those were the marks of the Horseshoe 
anti-skid shoes? ” 

“ That’s just what they are, Dave! ” answered 
the senator’s son, after a brief examination. 

The marks had been discovered on the side- 
road to their left. The road was a winding one, 
leading through the thick woods, and what was 
beyond they could not surmise. 

“ It seems to me this proves their hiding-place 
must be up on that road,” said Roger. 

“ Let us go down the road on the other side 
and see if any of the marks are there,” returned 
our hero. 

This was done, but no automobile marks of any 
kind were to be discerned in the soft soil. Then 
they came back to the cross-road, and after a 
long hunt found traces where the other touring 
car had come around the corner from the side- 
road into the main road leading down to Fry- 
town. 

“ That settles it in my mind,” announced Dave. 
“ I don’t believe they ever went through to Cul- 
lomburg or that they ever went up that side road 
on our right. They took this side-road to the 
left, and it’s my opinion that leads to where they 
have got Laura and Jessie prisoners.” 


266 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ What do you think we ought to do, Dave ? 
Go back to town and get help and round them 
up?” 

Our hero mused for a moment. “ Maybe we 
had better go ahead, Roger, and do a little more 
investigating.” 

“ But suppose those rascals come on us all at 
once and surprise us ? For all we know there may 
be half a dozen or more in this gang.” 

“ I’ve got another idea. I don’t believe this 
road is very long. As we came up I saw through 
the clearing below that there was quite a moun- 
tain on our left, and this road probably ends right 
there. Now, if you are willing, we’ll run our 
machine up past the cross-road a little distance, 
and then see if we can’t hide it behind the bushes. 
Then we can tramp up on the side road on foot.” 

“ All right, Dave. Let us do it — and at 
once ! ” 


CHAPTER XXVII 


TO THE RESCUE 

It was an easy matter to run the car a hun- 
dred feet or so beyond the side road. Here the 
trees were slightly scattered, and they had little 
difficulty in bringing the machine to a halt in the 
midst of them at a place where there were a few 
bushes. Then Dave took out the spark plug from 
the dashboard and placed it in his pocket. 

“ I don’t believe anybody will bother that car,” 
he said. 

“ Perhaps we won’t be gone very long any- 
how, Dave. This may prove to be a blind road 
leading to nothing.” 

They pushed on side by side. As it was very 
warm they had discarded their dust-coats and 
their goggles. Each had seen to it that his pis- 
tol was ready for use, for there was no telling 
what might confront them. 

A little farther on the road took a turn, and 
here became so stony that the tracks made by the 
wheels of the car they were following were com- 
pletely lost. But as there was no place where the 
machine might have turned around, they felt cer- 
tain it had gone on. 


267 


268 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ We had better keep quiet from now on, 
Roger,” said our hero in a low voice. “ And 
keep your ears and eyes wide open.” 

Two hundred feet more were passed and then 
Dave came to a halt, at the same time clutching 
his chum by the arm. From ahead they heard 
footsteps coming down the rocky roadway. Both 
made a bound, and crouched behind some trees 
and brushwood. The approaching person, who- 
ever he was, came closer; and presently the two 
youths saw that he was a middle-aged man dressed 
in the garb of a gypsy. 

“ I’ve seen that fellow before ! He is one of 
the gypsies who used to hang around the out- 
skirts of Crumville ! ” whispered Dave excitedly. 

“ Then he must be one of the chaps who ran 
off with Laura and Jessie!” returned the sen- 
ator’s son. “ What shall we do? ” 

“ Wait a minute. We want to make sure that 
he is alone.” 

They waited until the gypsy had passed them 
and gone on a distance of a hundred feet or more. 
He was evidently alone. 

“ Maybe we had better let him go,” whispered 
Roger. “ That will make one less to tackle, if 
the others are ahead of us.” 

“ He’s not going to get away,” answered Dave 
decidedly. “ We may not meet the others at all, 
and in that case we’d be very foolish to let this 


TO THE RESCUE 269 

fellow get out of our clutches. Come on! I’m 
going to make him a prisoner! ” 

Making as little noise as possible, our hero 
went after the gypsy, who had now passed a turn 
in the road and was out of sight. The senator’s 
son followed, and soon both came up behind the 
fellow ahead. 

The gypsy was taken completely by surprise. 
He had seated himself on a rock to fix one of his 
shoes, and before he could regain his feet both of 
the young civil engineers had him covered with 
their weapons. 

“ Throw up your hands and keep quiet,” de- 
manded Dave sternly. 

“ Yes, don’t you dare to cry out,” added Roger. 
“ If you do, you’ll get shot.” 

“ What is this? For why do you stop me like 
this?” stammered the gypsy. He was a tall, 
swarthy-looking fellow, with anything but a cheer- 
ful countenance. 

“ You know well enough why we have stopped 
you,” returned Dave. “ What have you done 
with those two young ladies who belong in Crum- 
ville? ” 

“ I know not’ing of any young ladies,” grum- 
bled the gypsy. “ You make big mistake.” 

“ You do know! ” cried Roger. “ Now tell us 
the truth! Have you hurt those young ladies? ” 

“ I know not’ing,” was all the gypsy replied. 


270 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

And, try their best, that was about all the two 
chums could get out of him. 

Had the man not been covered by the pistols he 
would undoubtedly have shown fight, but he was 
too cowardly to attempt anything under the exist- 
ing circumstances. 

Not knowing what else to do with their pris- 
oner, the two youths marched him down the road 
and to where they had left the automobile. Here 
they brought out a strong rope, and with this 
bound the gypsy’s hands and feet and tied him fast 
to one of the trees. 

“ I guess he’ll stay there until we get back,” 
was Dave’s comment. “ Now then, are you go- 
ing to tell us what became of those young ladies 
or not?” he questioned. But to this the gypsy 
merely shook his head and muttered something 
which neither of the young civil engineers could 
understand. 

“ I don’t believe that fellow is altogether right 
in his mind,” said Roger. 

“ Either that, Roger, or else he is shamming,” 
answered Dave. But Roger was right, the fellow 
was not more than half-witted. 

Leaving their prisoner, the two chums lost no 
time in making their way along the side-road once 
more. They soon passed the point where they 
had first caught sight of the gypsy. Here the 
roadway became fairly good for a distance of 


TO THE RESCUE 


271 


several hundred feet, but beyond this were a num- 
ber of large rocks, and the road seemed to come to 
an end in a mass of brushwood. 

“ Let us look around for wheel-tracks, Roger,” 
said Dave in a low voice. 

Both began an eager search, and were soon re- 
warded by seeing where the touring-car they were 
following had left the mountain road and passed 
in among some trees and bushes on the right. 
Close at hand was a spring of water, and beyond 
this the remains of a tumbled-down barn. 

“ I see the car ! ” whispered Dave, and pointed 
to the machine, which rested behind some rocks 
and brushwood. One glance at the automobile 
showed that it was deserted. 

“ They can’t be very far off,” said Roger in a 
low voice. “ Dave, what do you think we had 
better do next? ” 

“ Let us get behind the trees and bushes and 
reconnoiter,” was the answer. “ Be very careful, 
Roger, so that you don’t expose yourself. We 
don’t want to tumble into a hornet’s nest.” 

“ Don’t you think we had better go back to 
town and get help, or wait until your Uncle Dun- 
ston arrives? ” 

“ Maybe we’ll have to do that. But I want 
to discover where the girls are first, if I possibly 
can.” 

With extreme caution the young men moved 


272 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

along behind the trees. They saw that from the 
dilapidated barn a trail ran over some rough 
rocks to where was located a large bungalow. 
This had evidently been unused for years, and 
was almost as dilapidated as the other building. 
One end of the front porch had fallen down, and 
many of the windows had the glass broken out of 
them. 

“ I’d like to wager that this is the place to 
which they brought the girls,” whispered Roger. 

“ I think you’re right,” answered Dave. 
“ And if that is so, and those rascals are around 
here, we want to be more careful than ever.” 

Nobody was in sight around the dilapidated 
bungalow, and not a sound came from within. 
Presently, however, Dave noticed a thin wreath of 
smoke curling up from the chimney. 

“ Somebody has got a fire in there — that’s 
sure,” he whispered. “ I’m going to work my 
way around to the kitchen side of the build- 
ing.” 

With added caution the two youths crept along 
among the trees and over the rocks until they 
gained a point where they could look into the open 
kitchen of the bungalow. Here they saw an old 
gypsy woman moving around as if preparing a 
meal. 

4 ‘ I’ll bet that’s Mother Domoza, in fact, I’m 
almost certain of it,” whispered our hero. And he 


TO THE RESCUE 


273 


was right, it was indeed the gypsy woman who 
had caused so much trouble to the folks in Crum- 
ville. 

The two chums crept closer, and were then able 
to see what Mother Domoza was doing. She had 
prepared some things to eat over a small rusty 
stove in the bungalow, and now she placed this 
food on a couple of tin plates. Then, with the 
plates in one hand and a tin kettle of water in the 
other, the old woman left the kitchen and entered 
the front part of the bungalow. 

“ Do you know what I think? ” said Roger ex- 
citedly. “ I think she’s been getting some food 
ready for the girls ! ” 

“ I’m going to follow her and find out,” an- 
swered Dave, with sudden determination. 

“ But, Dave, we want to be careful! If those 
other fellows are around ” 

“ I know, Roger. But I was thinking that pos- 
sibly we could get into the bungalow without being 
seen. It is a big rambling affair, as you can see, 
and it must have a lot of vacant rooms.” 

Our hero led the way across a little clearing, 
and then entered the kitchen of the house. Going 
to one of the doors, he listened intently and heard 
Mother Domoza ascending a creaking pair of 
stairs. Then he heard a door slam, after which, 
for the time being, all became silent. 

Not daring to speak for fear of being over- 


274 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

heard, our hero tiptoed his way across what had 
been the living room of the bungalow and then to 
the narrow stairs which led to the upper floor. 
Roger came close behind him, and soon the pair 
stood on an upper landing. All was bare, the en- 
tire building being devoid of everything but a few 
heavy pieces of furniture, evidently left there years 
before because the owner did not think they were 
worth carrying away. 

“Oh! oh! please don’t do that! Please 
don’t!” 

The unexpected cry came from a room at the 
end of a corridor. It was the voice of a girl, and 
was immediately followed by some harsh words 
uttered by the gypsy woman. Then the voice of 
another girl was heard. 

“ You let her alone ! Don’t you dare to touch 
her, or touch me ! ” 

“ I’ll do as I please ! I’ll make you behave 
yourselves ! ” came in the voice of Mother Dom- 
oza. And then there followed some heavy foot- 
steps and several girlish screams. 

Not waiting to hear more, Dave and Roger 
bounded down the corridor and flung themselves 
against the door to the room from which the 
sounds had issued. They had recognized the 
voices of Laura and Jessie, and were more than 
eager to go to the girls’ assistance. 

The door had been closed, and evidently some- 


TO THE RESCUE 275 

thing had been placed against it. But the two 
young civil engineers were strong and their ex- 
citement gave them additional strength. They 
flung the door open readily, sending a bench be- 
fore it. As they did this they found themselves 
confronted by Mother Domoza, her eyes blazing 
with commingled astonishment and anger. 

“ You — you ! ” she shrieked. “ What do you 
want here? ” 

“ It’s Dave ! ” shrieked Jessie. 

“ And Roger! ” exclaimed Laura. 

Then the two girls attempted to move toward 
the two youths, but their way was barred by 
Mother Domoza. 

“You get out of here! You have no right 
here! ” screamed the old gypsy hag, and in her 
sudden fury she hurled herself at the two young 
civil engineers, sending them out into the corridor. 
Then she tried to shut the door of the room be- 
hind her. 

But now Dave’s blood was up, and he knew it 
would be useless to attempt to argue with the old 
hag. He made a leap forward, caught her by the 
arm, and swung her around. As he did this, 
Roger caught the old hag by the other arm, and 
between them they ran her down the corridor. 
Here they saw the open door to a vacant room, 
and into this they thrust the old woman, who, by 
this time, was screaming at the top of her lungs. 


276 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

The door had a hook with a staple to it, and this 
they locked. 

“ Now you behave yourself and keep still,” or- 
dered Dave. “ If you don’t, you’ll get into worse 
trouble than ever.” 

“ Oh, Dave! is it really you? ” came from the 
room at the other end of the corridor. 

“ Roger ! Roger ! ” burst out Laura, “ can’t 
you come and release us? ” 

“ We are chained fast to the floor,” explained 
Jessie. 

“ We’ll release you, and we’ll get you out of 
here in no time,” answered Dave; and then he 
and his chum ran back to where the girls were con- 
fined. 

They had just passed into the room and were 
hard at work on some chains which bound the two 
girls to rings in the floor, when there came an un- 
expected interruption. They heard footsteps in 
the corridor, and an instant later several gypsy 
men appeared. Then, before they could make a 
move to escape or show fight, the door to the room 
was slammed shut and they heard the click of a 
heavy lock. 

Dave and Roger were prisoners in company 
with those they had sought to rescue. 



“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT HERE ! ” SCREAMED THE OLD GYPSY HAG. 

Page 275. 
















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■ 













CHAPTER XXVIII 


PRISONERS 

For a moment after they were made prisoners 
Dave and his chum thought to try an attack upon 
the door, in an endeavor to batter it down. But 
then a command from the corridor made them 
pause. 

“ Now, you keep quiet in there and behave your- 
selves, M said a voice in fairly good English. 
“ We are armed, and we mean business.” 

“ Who is it who is talking? ” asked Dave. 

“ That’s none of your business, young man. 
You keep quiet or it will be the worse for you.” 

“ Say, Tony, you are wanted downstairs,” put 
in another voice out in the corridor. “ There may 
be more of those spies around.” 

“ All right, Carlos,” was the quick reply. 
Then the gypsy called Tony raised his voice. 
“ Now you fellows settle down and don’t try any 
funny work. Remember we are all armed and 
know how to shoot.” 

“ Look here, we want to talk this matter over,” 
said Dave, as he heard the gypsy prepare to go 
below. 

277 


278 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ I haven’t got time now. I’ll be back later. 
Now, no funny work remember, or you’ll get the 
worst of it ! ” and then those in the room heard the 
gypsies tramp downstairs. Mother Domoza had 
joined them, and all seemed to be in an angry dis- 
cussion among themselves. 

“ Oh, Dave, do be careful! ” pleaded Jessie. 
“ They are dreadful people, and I am afraid they 
will shoot us ! ” 

“ Yes, you must both be very careful,” put in 
Laura. “ I heard one of them say that if our 
folks attempted to follow them, there would surely 
be some shooting; ” and the girl shuddered. 

“ Have they done you any harm? ” questioned 
Roger, quickly. 

“ They have treated us very rudely, and they 
have given us awful food,” answered the daughter 
of the jewelry manufacturer. 

“ They wanted us to aid them in a demand for 
money, but we would not do it,” explained Laura. 
“ We have had some dreadful quarrels, and that 
old Mother Domoza has been exceedingly hateful 
to us. Just now, when she brought in some food, 
she said we must write a letter home for money, 
and when we said we wouldn’t do it, she caught 
Jessie by the arm and shook her.” 

Each of the girls was chained to a ring in the 
flooring by means of a heavy steel dog-collar fast- 
ened around her ankle and to a chain which had 


PRISONERS 


279 

another steel dog-collar on the other end passed 
through a ring in the floor. 

“ They keep us chained up about half the time,” 
explained Laura. 

“ But not at night, I hope? ” returned Dave. 

u No. At night Mother Domoza releases us 
so we can go into the adjoining room where there 
is an old mattress on the floor on which we have 
to sleep. Mother Domoza, or one of the other 
gypsies, remains on guard in the hallway outside.” 

“What about the windows?” questioned 
Roger. 

“ They are all nailed up, as you can see. Once 
we tried to pry one of them open, but the gypsies 
heard it, and stopped us.” 

The two youths made a hasty inspection of the 
two rooms in which the girls were kept prisoners. 
Each apartment was about twelve feet square, and 
each contained a window which was now nailed 
down and had heavy slats of wood taken from the 
tumbled-down piazza nailed across the outside. 
The inner room, which contained the mattress al- 
ready mentioned, had also a small clothing closet 
in it, and in this the girls had placed the few be- 
longings which had been in Laura’s suit-case at the 
time they had been kidnapped. 

“ They took our handbags with our money away 
from us,” explained Jessie. 

Of course the girls wanted to know how it was 


280 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


that Dave and Roger had gotten on the trail, and 
they listened eagerly to the story the chums had to 
tell. 

“ Oh, I knew you would come, Dave! ” cried 
Jessie, with tears in her eyes. “ I told Laura all 
along that you would leave Montana and come 
here just as soon as you heard of it; ” and she 
clung tightly to our hero, while the look in her be- 
dimmed eyes bespoke volumes. 

“ Yes, and I said Roger would come,” added 
Laura, with a warm look at the senator’s son. 

“ There’s one thing we can’t understand at all,” 
said Dave. “ How was it that you left that train 
at Crandall, went to the hotel there, and then 
walked out on that country road to where the au- 
tomobile was? ” 

“ Oh, that was the awfulest trick that ever was 
played!” burst out Laura. “They must have 
planned it some days ahead, or they never could 
have done it.” 

“ Tell me,” broke in Roger suddenly, “ wasn’t 
the driver of that car Nick Jasniff? ” 

“ I think he was,” answered Dave’s sister. 
“ We accused him of being Jasniff, but he denied 
it. Nevertheless, both of us feel rather certain 
that it is the same fellow who robbed Mr. Wads- 
worth’s factory.” 

“ We suspected Jasniff almost from the start,” 
said Dave. “ But go ahead — tell us how they 


PRISONERS 


281 


got you to leave the train and go to where they 
had the automobile.” 

“ You see, it was this way,” explained Laura. 
“ At the very first station where the train stopped, 
a messenger came through the car calling out my 
name. He had a telegram for me, which read 
something like this: ‘We are on an auto tour 
to Boston. If you want to ride with us, leave 
train at Crandall and meet us at the Bliss House. 
Telegraph answer from Glenwood.’ And the tel- 
egram was signed, ‘ Mrs. Frank Browning.’ ” 

“ Mrs. Frank Browning? ” repeated Dave. 
“ Do you mean the girl you used to know so well 
— Edith Parshall ? ” 

“ Yes, Dave. You know she is married, and 
her husband has a fine big touring-car. They left 
Crumville for a trip a few days before we went 
away. They were at our house talking about the 
tour the night before they started.” 

“ I see,” answered Dave, nodding understand- 
ingly. “ Go on.” 

“ Jessie and I talked it over, and as we were 
very much crowded in the day coach — you know 
we couldn’t get parlor-car chairs — we thought 
it would be a fine thing to accept Mrs. Browning’s 
invitation. So at Glenwood we sent a telegram, 
stating we would meet them at the Bliss House in 
Crandall. The train met with some kind of an ac- 
cident, and we were stalled just outside Crandall; 


282 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


but we got out with a number of others and walked 
to the town.” 

“ Of course Mrs. Browning had nothing to do 
with the telegram,” put in Jessie. 

“ Just as we got to the hotel in Crandall, a boy 
came up with a note and asked if either of us knew 
Laura Porter. I took the note, and from the 
way it was written supposed that Mrs. Browning 
had sent it. It stated that they had had a blow- 
out, and her husband was fixing the car some dis- 
tance down the road, and wouldn’t we walk down 
there and meet them ? ” 

“ So, instead of going into the hotel, we went 
down the road as the boy told us,” said Jessie. 
“ He pointed out the car, and then ran away to 
join some girls who were in a yard not very far 
off. We went up to the car, and the next thing 
we knew we were caught up and thrown inside, and 
the car went down the road at breakneck speed.” 

“ Who was in the car? ” questioned Dave. 

“ Mother Domoza and a tall gypsy, who we 
found out was Tony Bopeppo, the man you were 
just talking to. The fellow who drove the car 
was the chap we afterward suspected of being Jas- 
niff. He wore a false mustache and a wig, and I 
am sure he had his face stained.” 

“ Didn’t you struggle or cry out? ” questioned 
Roger. 

“ To be sure we did! But the old gypsy hag 


PRISONERS 


283 

had something on a handkerchief which she placed 
to our faces, and then we went off into something 
like a swoon. When we recovered, we found we 
were bound hands and feet with pieces of clothes- 
line. The automobile was going along at a lively 
rate, and we bumped over some terrible rocks. 
Then we began to climb a long hill, and after a 
little while the automobile came to a stop among 
some trees. There we were met by several other 
gypsies, and the whole crowd made us walk to this 
house and marched us up to these rooms — and 
here we are ! ” 

“ And now they have captured you, too ! ” cried 
Jessie. “ Oh, this is worse than ever! ” 

“ Don’t you worry too much,” whispered Dave, 
lowering his voice so that anybody outside the door 
might not hear. “ When we were at a town a 
few miles away from here, we sent word to Crum- 
ville, and Uncle Dunston is coming out to this 
neighborhood.” 

And then in a low voice Dave and Roger related 
how they had been following up the trail from 
Frytown, and had captured one of the gypsies and 
tied him to a tree. 

“ Oh, if we could only get word to Uncle Duns- 
ton ! ” murmured Laura. 

The girls had had no food since early morning, 
and so they were hungry. Nevertheless they in- 
sisted upon it that the boys share what was on the 


284 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

tin plates left by Mother Domoza, and each 
washed down the scanty meal with a draught of 
water from the tin kettle. 

“ Dave, what do you think they will do with all 
of us?” questioned his sister, after the situation 
had been discussed from several angles. The 
gypsies were still downstairs and in the woods sur- 
rounding the bungalow. 

“ Their idea is to make a lot of money out of 
this,” was the reply. “ But they are not going to 
do so if I can prevent it. I’m going to get out of 
here somehow, and then notify the authorities, and 
have these rascals rounded up.” 

“ That’s the talk! ” returned Roger. “ Come 
on — let us make an inspection of these rooms and 
see what can be done.” 

“ I’m going to release the girls first,” said Dave, 
and getting out his penknife, he opened the file 
blade and began work on the steel band which en- 
circled Jessie’s ankle. 

Seeing this, Roger employed himself on the 
band which held Laura prisoner, and soon the 
youths had the satisfaction of setting the two girls 
free. 

“ Those gypsies will be very angry when they 
find out that you have ruined the chains,” re- 
marked Jessie. 

“ We’ll have to take our chances on that,” an- 
swered Dave. 


PRISONERS 


285 

“ We are still armed, even if we are prisoners,” 
put in Roger. “ I guess we could put up a pretty- 
stiff fight if we had to.” 

“ Oh, Roger, I hope there won’t be any shoot- 
ing! ” cried Laura, in horror. 

“ There won’t be, unless they start something,” 
answered the senator’s son. 

The two young men began a careful inspection 
of the two rooms. Although the bungalow was 
old and dilapidated in many places, the timbers of 
which it was built were heavy, and they found the 
walls and the floor, as well as the ceiling, intact. 
The only place that looked as if it might afford 
some means of escape was the little closet where 
the girls had hung up some of the articles con- 
tained in Laura’s suit-case. Here, by standing on 
a bench, Dave found that one of the boards in the 
closet ceiling was loose. He was just about to 
make an investigation of what was beyond this 
loose board, when there came a sharp knock on the 
door leading to the corridor. 

“ I want Dave Porter to step out here ! ” said 
a voice. “ I want to talk to him ! ” 


CHAPTER XXIX 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 

“ Oh, Dave, don’t go ! ” cried Jessie, as he 
walked toward the door, and she caught him by 
the arm. 

“ I don’t think I’d trust myself out there alone, 
Dave,” cautioned Roger in a low voice. “ I think 
the best thing we can do under the present circum- 
stances is to stick together.” 

Dave hesitated. He realized that what his 
chum said might be true. Then his hand went 
into the pocket where he had his automatic pistol. 

“ I’ve got this, Roger. I think I can defend my- 
self,” he said. 

“Oh, Dave, I’d hate to see any shooting!” 
whispered his sister. 

“ There won’t be any shooting unless they start 
things,” he answered. 

“ Say, Dave Porter, are you coming out or 
not? ” demanded the voice of the person in the 
corridor. 

“Is that you, Nick Jasniff?” asked our hero 
quickly, for he was quite sure that he recognized 
the voice. 


286 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 287 

“ Who told you I was Nick Jasniff? ” grumbled 
the fellow outside. 

“ Never mind that now, Jasniff. What do you 
want? ” 

“ You are making a mistake about me, Dave 
Porter. I want you to come outside so I can talk 
to you.” 

“ Is the door unlocked? ” 

“ It is. But don’t you try any funny work, be- 
cause we are well armed, and we don’t intend to 
take any chances so far as you and Roger Morr 
are concerned.” 

With caution Dave opened the door several 
inches, and peered out into the corridor. He saw 
the disguised person he suspected of being Nick 
Jasniff standing there, and behind him were several 
others, evidently gypsies. 

“ This is a fine piece of business for you to be in, 
Jasniff,” he said sharply. For a close look at the 
face in front of him had convinced him that the 
rascal was really the fellow who had escaped from 
prison. 

“ Humph, you needn’t preach to me, Dave Por- 
ter ! I guess I’ve now got you just where I want 
you! ” answered Nick Jasniff, seeing it would be 
useless to deny his identity any longer. 

“ That remains to be seen. Fellows like you 
always get to the end of their rope sooner or 
later.” 


288 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 


“ We won’t waste words on that just now, Por- 
ter. What I want to know is, did you and Morr 
come here alone or are there others hiding in the 
woods? ” 

“ Do you think I’d be fool enough to tell you 
our plans? ” demanded Dave. 

“ You’ll tell me everything, Porter, and do it 
pretty quick! ” snarled Nick Jasniff, flying into a 
sudden rage. “ Don’t you see that you are en- 
tirely in our hands, and that we can do as we please 
with all of you ? Unless you tell me everything I 
want to know, we are coming in there and take 
those two girls away and leave you two fellows 
here, bound and gagged. Then, if nobody comes 
to rescue you, you can starve to death. Do you 
get me? ” 

“ Oh, Dave ! don’t let them do anything like 
that ! ” pleaded Jessie, who had been listening over 
his shoulder to what was said. 

“ Don’t worry about their binding and gagging 
us — at least not while we are armed,” put in 
Roger. 

“ See here, Jasniff, you can talk all you please, 
but we do not intend to let you carry out your 
threats,” said Dave. “ Both Morr and I are well 
armed, and we know how to shoot. In a very 
short time this place will be completely surrounded 
and you will be made prisoners.” 

“ It isn’t so ! ” cried the former bully of Oak 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 289 

Hall; but the tone of his voice showed his un- 
easiness. 

“It may be so!” cried one of the gypsies 
quickly. “ Remember, Carmenaldo did not re- 
turn. That looks bad.” 

The gypsies began to whisper among them- 
selves, and then one of them pulled Jasniff back. 

“ We had better go out again and take another 
look around,” he said in a hoarse whisper. 
“ That young man may speak the truth, and we do 
not want to run any chances of being captured in 
such a game as this. If we find the woods clear, 
we can then come back and settle with these in- 
truders.” 

“ All right, have your own way,” grumbled Jas- 
niff. “ Just the same, I think they came here 
alone. Didn’t I see them alone at that hotel? ” 

The gypsies were evidently too disturbed to 
argue the matter further, and they pushed forward 
and closed the door in Dave’s face. Then those 
inside the room heard the lock fastened once more 
and heard the gypsies tramp away and down the 
stairs. 

“ Oh, Dave, I’m so glad you didn’t get into a 
fight! ” cried Jessie, her face showing momentary 
relief. 

“ While they are gone let us see if we can escape 
by way of the opening in the top of the closet,” 
suggested Roger. 


290 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ Hush, not so loud I ” whispered Dave. “ One 
of the gypsies or Nick Jasniff may still be in the 
corridor listening.” 

“ I’ll tell you what let’s do,” returned the sen- 
ator’s son in an equally low voice. “ Let the two 
girls stay here and do some pretty loud talking. 
That will cover up any noise that we may make in 
the closet. Then, if there is a chance to get out, 
we’ll have to lay a plan as to just how to do it.” 

This suggestion was carried out, and the two 
girls began to talk hurriedly and in a loud tone 
of voice close to the door leading to the corridor. 
In the meantime, Dave and Roger went to the 
closet, and both made an investigation of the ceil- 
ing. Here, as stated before, one board was loose, 
and they soon managed to pry up another. 

“ Now boost me up, Roger, and I’ll investigate 
further,” said our hero. 

Dave presently found himself in a dark place 
directly under the sloping roof of the bungalow. 
In its highest part, the roof was but four feet from 
the flooring, so he had to stoop as he felt his way 
around. He soon came to a sort of hatchway; the 
cover to this he raised cautiously. Below was a 
vacant room which had once been used as a bed- 
chamber. Around the opening where Dave stood 
was a mass of discarded household things and 
several packages of magazines which had evidently 
been brought up to the little garret-like opening by 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 291 

means of a ladder, but now the ladder was missing. 

Our hero lit a match, and this brief illumination 
showed him several large bundles of magazines 
still tied together with some old rope. He quickly 
possessed himself of the rope, and found it still 
usable. Then he went back to the closet where 
Roger awaited him, and told of what he had dis- 
covered. 

“ Do you think we can make our escape that 
way? ” questioned the senator’s son eagerly. 

“ I don’t know about that, Roger. We might 
try.” 

The matter was discussed for several minutes 
with the girls, and all decided that they had better 
do what they could to secure their freedom with- 
out delay. Dave brought down one of the boards 
from the flooring above, and setting the bench up 
endways placed one end of the board upon it, thus 
making a sort of gangplank. Up this he and 
Roger assisted the girls, and then followed to the 
little garret-like enclosure above. 

“ Now I think I had better go down into that 
other room first and look around,” said our hero, 
and let himself down by means of the rope which 
he had found and which he fastened to a staple at 
the side of the hatchway. 

Once below, Dave tiptoed his way around cau- 
tiously. There was a window to the room, and 
this looked out on the top of a little porch, beyond 


292 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

which were a number of trees. Then he went to 
the door and opened it cautiously. He saw a little 
corridor opening into that which led to the stairs. 
From below came a murmur of voices. 

“ I don’t think we can get away by going below,” 
he explained to the others, after they had joined 
him; “ but that looks pretty good to me,” and he 
pointed out of the window to the roof of the porch 
and the trees so close at hand. 

“ Oh, that’ll be easy if they don’t catch sight of 
us getting down,” answered Roger quickly. 

The glass of the window was gone; neverthe- 
less, they had to raise the lower sash before any 
of them could get out on the roof of the porch. 
This was much dilapidated, and creaked as they 
stepped upon it. 

“ Oh, Dave ! you don’t suppose it will break 
down with us? ” cried Jessie. 

“ Jump for the trees if it starts to go,” he an- 
swered, and the words had barely left his lips when 
the old porch began to sag. A moment later it 
collapsed completely, sending all of the young peo- 
ple to the ground. 

It was a most unexpected tumble. As they went 
down Dave made a grab for Jessie and did what 
he could to save her from getting hurt. Both 
landed in some bushes, and Laura and Roger came 
down beside them. 

With the sudden collapse of the porch, there 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 


293 


was a cry of alarm in the lower part of the bunga- 
low, and some person, evidently one of the gypsies, 
set up a yell from somewhere among the trees. 

“ Come ! ” cried Dave, as he pulled Jessie to 
her feet. “ We’ve no time to spare! Let us get 
out of sight as quickly as possible ! ” 

He glanced over his shoulder, to see that Roger 
had Laura by the arm and was forcing her along. 
All four ran among the trees, not knowing, how- 
ever, in which direction they were heading. 

“ Oh, Dave, they are after us! ” panted Jessie. 

Our hero glanced back and saw that several 
gypsies and Nick Jasniff had just emerged from the 
bungalow, some with pistols and others with clubs 
in their hands. 

“ This way, quick! ” he exclaimed, and pointed 
to a little gully but a few feet away. 

He and Jessie leaped into this, and Roger and 
Laura immediately followed. The hollow was 
filled with weeds and brushwood. 

“ Say, can’t we hide here? ” asked Roger. 

“ They’d be after us in a minute, Roger,” an- 
swered Dave. “ Come on ! ” and he pushed his 
way down along the hollow until they reached the 
tiny watercourse which flowed from the spring 
near the roadway. Here was a heavy clump of 
trees, some of the branches close to the ground. 

“ Now then, up you go! ” cried Dave, and he 
and Roger assisted the two girls into the nearest 


294 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

tree branches. Then the young men hauled them- 
selves up. 

“ Now climb up as high as you can,” directed 
Dave to Jessie and his sister. And then all four 
went up the tree a distance of twenty feet or more. 

“Where did they go?” cried someone who 
stood close to the watercourse. 

“ I don’t know. But they must be somewhere 
in this vicinity,” answered the voice of Nick Jas- 
niff. 

Hardly daring to breathe, the four in the tree 
listened to what was taking place below. They 
heard Nick Jasniff and several of the gypsies 
tramping around, first in one direction and then in 
another. 

“ Are you sure they all got away? ” questioned 
one of the gypsies, of another who had just ar- 
rived. 

“ Yes. The room was empty and we have 
searched the house thoroughly.” 

“ Then I guess the game is up,” growled a third. 

“ What’s the use of giving up so soon? ” grum- 
bled Nick Jasniff. u I believe they are hiding 
around here somewhere, and I don’t believe there 
is anybody else near. I think the best thing you 
can do, Bopeppo, is to call in all those other fel- 
lows and begin a search for them. Eight of us 
ought to be able to handle two fellows and two 
girls without much trouble.” 


TRYING TO ESCAPE 


295 


After that JasnifI and Bopeppo moved around 
again through the woods in the immediate vicinity 
of the bungalow. One of them had discovered 
where the party of four had jumped into the gully 
leading to the watercourse, and now he set up a 
sudden shout: 

“They came this way! Here are their foot- 
prints! ” 

“ Where do they lead to, Vazala? ” questioned 
Nick Jasniff eagerly. 

“They lead to right here! ” answered Carlos 
Vazala, pointing to some impressions in the damp 
ground and some overturned stones. 

“ I bet they went up into these trees ! ” cried Jas- 
niff. He raised his voice. “ If you are up there 
you might as well come down,” he commanded. 
“ If you don’t, we’ll come up there and bring you 
down.” 


CHAPTER XXX 


THE ROUND-UP CONCLUSION 

“ Oh, Dave, do you think ” began Jessie in 

a low voice, when a look of warning from our hero 
stopped her. 

“ You can’t fool us ! ” cried Nick Jasniff, after a 
moment of silence. “ Are you coming down, or 
shall I come up and bring you down? ” 

To this none of those in the tree replied. All 
kept silent, scarcely daring to breathe. Jessie was 
clinging to Dave’s arm, and Roger had a protect- 
ing hand on Laura’s shoulder. Each of the young 
civil engineers had his pistol ready for any emer- 
gency which might arise. They heard a move- 
ment below as if either Nick Jasnilf or one of the 
gypsies was starting to climb the tree. 

“ Oh, don’t let them come up here ! ” whispered 
Laura, unable to remain silent longer. 

“Yes, yes, make them stay on the ground! ” 
breathed Jessie. 

“Stop where you are!” cried Dave in stern 
tones. “ Don’t you dare come a foot closer if you 
value your life.” 

“ Don’t you shoot me ! ” exclaimed Nick Jasnilf. 

296 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 297 

“ Then you get back on the ground, Jasniff, just 
as quick as you can,” answered Roger. “ We 
won’t stand any more of your nonsense ! ” and at 
these words Nick Jasniff lost no time in dropping 
out of the tree. 

The gypsies and the fellow who had escaped 
from prison began to talk among themselves, but 
in such a low tone of voice that those in the tree 
could not make out what was being said. 

“ What do you suppose they’ll do next? ” ques- 
tioned Jessie anxiously. 

“ They’ll try to get us down somehow; but I’m 
not going,” answered Roger stubbornly. 

“ But they may keep us up here all night — or 
even longer ! ” returned Laura. 

“ Are you going to give in or not? ” demanded 
Nick Jasniff in a loud tone of voice. 

“ I don’t see why we should give in,” answered 
Dave. 

“ You’ll have to do it, Porter, sooner or later. 
Can’t you see that we’ve got the bulge on you ? If 
you don’t give in now, we’ll keep you up in that 
tree until you change your mind. The best thing 
you can do is to drop your pistols and give your- 
selves up. If you’ll do that we’ll promise to treat 
you well and let you go as soon as we receive that 
ransom we are expecting.” 

“ We don’t intend to give in,” answered Dave, 
after a few words with Roger. 


298 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

“ All right then, we’ll let it go at that — for the 
present,” answered Nick Jasniff. “ I think you’ll 
change your tune after you have spent a night in 
that tree and are good and hungry,” he added cun- 
ningly. “ And let me tell you, if anybody tries to 
escape he’ll get shot.” 

After that there was a long period of silence. 
Evidently some of the gypsies had moved away, 
but it was more than likely that the others were 
keeping on guard in the vicinity of the tree. What 
had become of Nick Jasniff those who were con- 
cealed among the branches could not surmise. 

It must be confessed that Dave and those with 
him were in a great quandary. They did not 
wish to remain in the tree indefinitely, and yet to 
make another break for liberty might be decidedly 
perilous. 

The best part of an hour passed, and then Dave 
and the others heard some of the gypsies calling 
to each other. 

“ Dobado is back, and he has news ! ” they 
heard some one cry. 

“Did they find Carmenaldo?” asked another 
voice. 

“ They did not.” 

“ Perhaps that half-witted fool has gone back on 
us,” came in the voice of Nick Jasniff. u I said it 
wouldn’t be wise to let that fellow into the game.” 

“ Carmenaldo is all right. He can be trusted,” 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 299 

answered the voice of Mother Domoza. She was 
an aunt to the half-witted gypsy and she did not 
like to have any one speak ill of him. 

Then began a hurried consultation among the 
gypsies, and the whole crowd moved down in the 
direction of the tree in which our friends were hid- 
ing. 

“ Ha, you are a pack of cowards not to get them 
out of the tree ! ” cried Mother Domoza. “ Had 
I the strength to climb, I’d get them out single- 
handed.” 

“ We’d bring them down quick enough, were it 
not that they are armed,” answered Tony Bo- 
peppo. 

There was a warm discussion, the old gypsy 
woman urging the men to go up into the tree and 
bring down our hero and the others. 

In the midst of the discussion Dave heard a 
sound which thrilled him to the heart. Far off 
from the direction of the main road between Fry- 
town and Cullomburg came the honk of an auto- 
mobile horn twice repeated. 

“ Roger, did you hear that? ” he cried in a low 
voice. “ Listen ! ” and a moment later the double 
honk was repeated. 

“ Why, it sounds like the horn on your auto! ” 
exclaimed the senator’s son. 

“ That’s just what it is ! And didn’t you hear 
— it sounded out twice in rapid succession? Lis- 


3 oo DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

ten! there it goes again! That’s the signal from 
my Uncle Dunston ! ” 

“Oh, Dave! can it be Uncle Dunston?” ex- 
claimed his sister. 

“ That’s just who it is ! ” he answered, great re- 
lief showing itself in his voice. “ I’m going to an- 
swer back! ” and pulling out his pistol, Dave fired 
two shots in the air in rapid succession. 

“ Hi! hi! what are you doing? ” roared a voice 
from below. “ Don’t you dare to shoot at us! ” 

“ We are not shooting at you,” answered Dave 
quick-wittedly. “ I am trying my pistol to see that 
it is in good order.” 

“ Huh, you’ll get no chance to use that pistol on 
us,” growled Nick Jasniff. 

All in the tree paid but scant attention to what 
was said below. They were listening intently. 
An instant later came two more honks from the 
distant automobile. 

“ Give them two more shots, Roger ! ” cried our 
hero. “ I’m going up to the top of the tree to look 
around,” and he began to climb with vigor. 

From the top of the tree Dave could get a fairly 
good view of the surroundings. He soon made 
out the little side-road and the point where it ran 
into the main highway. Then he spotted an auto- 
mobile containing four or five men. Another auto 
was on the main highway but a short distance 
away. 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 301 

Standing on the topmost branch of the tree and 
holding fast with one hand, Dave waved his cap 
with the other and then fired two more shots from 
his pistol. Those in the automobile were evi- 
dently on the alert, and a second later our hero 
saw that his signal had been seen. One man 
jumped up in the front automobile and waved his 
arms, and then the automobile moved forward 
rapidly up the little side-road. 

“ They have seen us, and they are coming in this 
direction ! ” cried Dave, as he lowered himself to 
where the others rested in the tree. “ I’ll give 
them another signal, so that they won’t go astray,” 
and a few seconds later two more shots rent the 
air. 

“ Hi, you ! what are you doing up there, any- 
way? ” came uneasily from Nick Jasniff. 

“ An automobile is coming!” came in a yell 
from a distance. “ An automobile with a number 
of men in it! ” 

“ We’ve been betrayed! ” added another of the 
gypsies. “ We must run for it or we’ll be cap- 
tured ! ” 

“ The automobile ! Why can not we ride away 
in the automobile?” asked Mother Domoza, in 
sudden panic. 

“ We can’t use it! That other auto will block 
the road! ” answered Nick Jasniff. 

By this time a shouting was heard from the nar- 


302 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

row roadway as the first automobile came closer, 
quickly followed by the second car. 

“Hello, Uncle Dunston! is that you?” yelled 
Dave at the top of his lungs. 

“Yes, Dave!” came the answering cry. 
“ Where are you? ” 

“ We are all here in a tree in the woods,” an- 
swered Roger. 

“ Are the girls safe? ” 

“Yes,” returned Dave. “Never mind us — 
go after those gypsies and after Nick Jasniff.” 

“We’ll do that all right enough!” answered 
Dunston Porter. 

“ They are the kidnappers, don’t let them get 
away! ” yelled Roger. 

The men who had accompanied Dunston Porter 
needed no further urging. They knew many of 
the particulars concerning the case, and had been 
promised a large reward if they would give their 
aid in rounding up the kidnappers and saving the 
two girls. One man was a local constable, and 
two were detectives, while the others were men 
who had been picked up in the town and pressed 
into service because of their strength and willing- 
ness to fight. The whole crowd leaped from the 
automobiles and lost no time in giving chase to the 
fleeing criminals. 

“ Pm going to join in this hunt, Roger! ” ex- 
claimed Dave. And then he added to the two 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 303 

girls: “You had better remain where you are 
until we come back.” 

He dropped out of the tree just in time to see 
his Uncle Dunston making after one of the gypsies 
and Nick Jasniff. Several shots were fired, which, 
however, took no effect, and then the criminals 
dived out of sight between a number of trees. 

Dave’s blood was up, and he made up his mind 
that Nick Jasniff should be captured if it were 
possible to do so. Roger had followed him out 
of the tree, and now both made after the rascal 
who had escaped from prison. 

“You get back! Don’t you dare to follow 
me! ” howled Jasniff, and flourished a revolver at 
them. He pulled the trigger, but the weapon 
failed to go off, and then the rascal continued to 
run. 

“We ought to shoot him! ” exclaimed the sen- 
ator’s son. 

But as he spoke he saw Nick Jasniff trip over a 
tree root and go sprawling. Before the fellow 
could arise, Dave was on him. Jasniff tried to 
catch our hero by the throat, and in return re- 
ceived a blow in the chin which all but stunned 
him. 

That the chase after the fleeing gypsies was go- 
ing on in earnest was testified to by the sounds com- 
ing from various quarters of the woods on the 
mountainside. Exclamations and cries rent the 


304 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

air, punctuated every now and then by a pistol 
shot or the discharge of a shotgun. One of the 
gypsy men was hit in the leg and fell, and Mother 
Domoza received part of a charge of shot in her 
right hand. 

“ We’ll disarm him and tie his hands behind 
him,” said Dave to Roger, referring to Jasniff. 
And despite the protests of the fellow who had es- 
caped from prison this was speedily done. Then 
Jasniff was marched along to the foot of the tree 
in which the girls were hiding, and there Roger 
stood guard over him, while Dave assisted Jessie 
and his sister to the ground. 

In less than half an hour the impromptu fight 
came to a finish. Mother Domoza and three of 
the leading gypsies had been captured. The oth- 
ers had escaped into the mountains, but a posse 
was organized, and all of them were rounded up 
inside of twenty-four hours. 

“ Oh, Uncle Dunston, I am so glad to see you ! ” 
cried Laura, when the uncle put in an appearance. 

“ And I am glad, too! ” exclaimed Jessie. 

“ Are either of you hurt? ” questioned Dunston 
Porter quickly. 

“ No, not in the least,” answered the daughter 
of the jewelry manufacturer. “ But we have been 
horribly frightened.” 

“ You didn’t pay the gypsies or Jasniff any re- 
ward, did you ? ” questioned Dave quickly. 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 305 

“ No, Dave; although we might have done so 
if we hadn’t got the word that you sent by tele- 
phone.” 

As far as our friends went, it was a happy little 
party that gathered in the bungalow a short while 
after. The girls were inclined to be somewhat 
hysterical, and the young men and Dunston Porter 
did all they could to quiet them. 

“ As soon as I discovered your automobile in the 
bushes I knew that you must be somewhere in this 
vicinity,” explained Dunston Porter. “ We had 
come in to Frytown from Crandall less than an 
hour before.” 

“ But how did you get to Crandall so quickly? ” 
questioned Roger. 

“ As soon as I got word from Dave I set the 
wires to working, and through the authorities had 
the Boston Express stop both at Crumville and 
Crandall, so that brought us up here in no time.” 

“ Did you see that fellow we had tied to the 
tree? ” questioned Dave. 

“ Oh, yes, I found him directly after I located 
your auto. I tried to get something out of him, 
but he seemed a bit off in his mind. Then I re- 
membered that signal you had spoken about and 
used it on the auto horn.” 

“ Oh, won’t I be glad to get back to Crum- 
ville ! ” murmured Jessie. 

“ That’s right,” answered Laura. “ I don’t 


3 o6 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

think we want to make that trip to Boston just now. 
I want to get home and see the rest of the folks.” 

And now let me add a few words more and then 
bring this story of “ Dave Porter’s Great Search ” 
to a close. 

The whole party found themselves that night at 
the Bliss House in Crandall, where they would 
have to remain until morning. Word had been 
sent to Crumville, and it can well be imagined 
how happy those at home were when they received 
the glad tidings that the girls were safe and that 
those who had kidnapped them had been captured. 

“ Oh, Dave, it was simply wonderful how you 
and Roger got on the trail of Jasniff and those 
awful gypsies!” remarked Jessie, in talking the 
matter over. 

“ It was certainly very clever work,” put in 
Laura. “ I think I’ll have to have medals of 
honor struck off for both of you”; and this re- 
mark brought a happy laugh all around. 

The criminals had been taken in charge by the 
authorities, and the following day found them safe 
behind the bars. It may be added here that later 
on all of the gypsies, including Mother Domoza, 
were tried and sentenced to long terms of impris- 
onment. Nick Jasniff was returned to the prison 
from which he had escaped. 

“ He’ll have to serve his old sentence over 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 307 

again,” explained Dunston Porter. “ After he 
has finished with that, they will probably try him 
for this kidnapping affair, so that it’s likely he will 
not mingle with honest people for a good many 
years to come.” 

On being taken to prison, Jasniff was closely 
questioned and finally gave the particulars of how 
he had stolen the battered touring-car, come to 
Crumville in disguise, learned that the girls were 
going to take the trip to Boston, and arranged with 
the gypsies to do the kidnapping. 

“ Oh, what a misspent life ! ” was Laura’s com- 
ment. 

“ Well, he has no one to blame for it but him- 
self,” was Roger’s blunt reply. 

The home-coming of the two girls, accompanied 
by Dave, Roger and Dunston Porter, was made a 
gala occasion at Crumville. Many of their 
friends were on hand to greet them, and Mrs. 
Wadsworth shed tears of joy when she embraced 
her daughter and Laura. 

“ I shall never forget what you have done,” 
said Mr. Wadsworth to Dave and Roger. “ It 
was grand — simply grand!” and he wiped the 
moisture from his eyes. 

“ I knew Davy would do it,” quavered Caspar 
Potts, nodding his head over and over again. 
“ He’s a great boy — my Davy is ! ” 

As for Dave’s father, the man could hardly 


3 o8 DAVE PORTER’S GREAT SEARCH 

speak, but the way he grasped his son’s hand spoke 
volumes. 

The two young civil engineers could not resist 
the temptation to send a so-called night letter over 
the wires to those at the construction camp in 
Montana, telling of what had been accomplished 
and stating that they would soon be back at work. 
This message caused even Ralph Obray to become 
enthusiastic. 

“ They are certainly great boys,” he said to 
Frank Andrews. 

“ The finest lads we have in camp,” answered 
the other. “ I’m certainly glad they joined us. 
Some day they’ll make their mark.” 

“ I believe you ! ” 

Now that the young civil engineers had found 
the two girls they were loath to separate from 
them. The young folks had many hours of happi- 
ness together, which the older heads did not have 
the heart to interrupt. 

“ They certainly think the world and all of each 
other,” said Mr. Porter to Mr. Wadsworth, re- 
ferring to Dave and Jessie. 

“ So they do, and I am not sorry for it,” an- 
swered the jewelry manufacturer. “ And I notice 
that Roger thinks a good deal of your daughter 
Laura.” 

“ You are right. And that pleases me, too,” 
returned Dave’s father. 


THE ROUND-UP — CONCLUSION 309 

“ Well, we’ve got to start back for the West 
to-morrow,” announced Dave one day. 

“ Right you are! ” answered the senator’s son. 
“ I suppose after this there won’t be anything left 
for us to do but to work.” 

“ Oh, I don’t know, Roger. Something else 
may turn up sooner or later,” returned our hero. 

And he was right. Something else did turn 
up, and what that was will be related in our next 
volume, to be entitled “ Dave Porter on the Atlan- 
tic; or, The Castaways of the Menagerie Ship.” 

“ Becoming civil engineers has not been such a 
monotonous existence after all,” said Roger. 
“ Think of those strenuous times we had along the 
Rio Grande and in Mexico, and then all those do- 
ings out in Montana, and when we went after the 
gypsies and Jasniff.” 

“ They certainly were strenuous days, Roger,” 
answered Dave. “ But now we’ve got to buckle 
down to work if we want to become first-class, 
full-fledged civil engineers.” 

And here let us take our leave and bid Dave 
Porter good-bye. 


THE END 































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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 






